Chaos Card Captor Sakura
by DrakeTheDuelist
Summary: The Kaos Cards are active in Tomoeda after a near 200 year dormancy, and they're hungry for vengeance against Clow Reed. Can Sakura and Syaoran stop them, or will the duo be the undoing of life itself? SS, of course. Set bt Seasons 2 and 3.
1. 0 The Life of Gin Clow

Prologue: The Life of Gin Clow

_Great Britan, 1785 (roughly)_

A young, blue-haired boy with large round glasses eagerly carries his belt-wrapped books with him as he strolls through the marketplace. With one hand, he holds one of his books open to read, occasionally flipping through the pages. He appears very deep into complex reading, far beyond that of his mere twelve years. As several horse-drawn carriages trod through the street, he keeps wary of them, despite not having to look up at all, with almost an unearthly clairvoyance for the outside world. Still without looking up, he enters a random door of a house along the streets.

"I'm home, father," the boy calls out.

Out from behind a corner, a distinguished, long and dark-blue-haired adult peeks his head out. "Ah yes, jolly good, son. Welcome home," he says before retiring behind the corner, where the boy follows his father around the corner.

"Is mum back yet?" the boy asks as he rounds the corner.

The boy's father holds a small watering can over a bonsai tree, watering the tiny tree-looking plant. "Now, now, Reed. Be patient. Global travel may seem hard now, but…" Reed's father continues on in a whimsical tone before turning back to his son. "Well, you'll see," he finishes.

Reed slouches, disappointed. "Aww, but I finished my project I made during free time at school, and I was looking so forward to showing her…" he mopes.

Reed's father nods his head back and forth. "Reed, you just can't be doing magic in school. It's not fair to the other kids to use your magic to further your studies. And to top it off, you could be seen. Remember, the outside world isn't quite ready for our kind," Reed's father warns.

Reed looks down towards the floor, slightly moping. "Well, I did all the stuff mum showed me about keeping the Yin and Yang in proper balance and all… I'm doing it safe, by-the-book, just like mum does."

Reed's father turns back towards him, with a teacup in hand. "And you've made?" he inquires.

Reed unbuckles the belt around his book to reveal a sheet of drawing paper folded in half. He hands it proudly to his father with a smile on his face. "I did it, dad. I made my first magic cards," he boasts as his father takes the paper from his hands and unfolds it.

Looking at the two cards lovingly wrapped up safely by the paper, he sees two picture portraits on the cards. The cards bear the look of two identical women, one with white hair and a white gown, and the other with black hair and a black gown, as if they were photo-negatives of each other. At the bottom of the cards, their titles are written: "The Light" and "The Dark". Reed's father nods his head in acknowledgement of Reed's handiwork before folding the wrapping back over the cards and handing them back to his son. "Jolly good, son. Your mum would be proud of you. The magical world had better watch out for you. You're going to make the name of Clow famous one day, just you wait," he encourages.

Reed blushes lightly as he takes his two cards back. "Thanks, dad," he responds.

Reed's father takes a sip of his tea before setting the teacup down and returning to watering and tending for the bonsai tree behind him. "So, I take it that you're putting in a lot more thought to this than your brother, I'd hope," he comments.

"Gin?" Reed asks, as he scratches his chin. "Well, I'm really not sure what he's doing, but-"

A large explosion down the hallway interrupts Reed, as smoke bellows out of one of the rooms. A young boy can be heard coughing from inside the room. Reed rushes ahead of his father as he storms into the room with the smoke rolling out the door, who follows close behind, but pauses as a chill runs down his spine.

"Gin!" Reed screams as he rushes into the room.

In the middle of the room, a ten-year old boy with silver hair and a short ponytail kneels in front of a pile of black dust, coughing heavily and waving away the smoke. "Guess I should watch out for that incantation…" Gin mutters to himself as he stands to his feet.

After confirming his brother's safety, Reed glances around the very dimly lit room, lined with papers all over the wall. One particular picture, labeled "The Creature" features an unusual composite beast with a set of wings, one of a bat and one of a bird, a snakelike head, and the tail of a scorpion. Another picture, labeled "The Harvest" features a clean, gleaming scythe overlaying a background of baskets overflowing with bread and fruits.

"Wow…" Reed whispers in awe.

"You like?" Gin asks Reed. "I heard you and dad. About you making your very first magical cards," Gin adds with an envious tone. He stands up and dusts himself off. "Pfft. "The Light"? "The Dark"? And dad says _you'll _make the Clow name famous? If I want light, I'll light a candle. If I want Dark, I'll cover the windows. You can make your wimpy little pathetic cards with as much _emotion_ as you want, but in the end _I'll_ be the one changing the world with what mum and dad teach me about magic. _You'll_ just be that stupid git brother of mine."

Reed cracks a goofy grin and, in an attempt to break the tension of the moment he pats Gin on the back. "You mean history will remember "_Gobbo_" Gin Clow?" Reed teases. "With his little sticky goblin fingers, in his dank little goblin cave, and his pointy little goblin ears and-"

"Quit calling me that!" Gin responds furiously. "You just don't get it, do you? Well I guess I'd best show you what _real_ use of Clow power looks like…" he goes on as he reaches towards his wall of pictures and takes down a particular parchment and he shows it to Reed.

The picture is labeled "The Life". It depicts a beautiful young girl with angel-like wings, silky white robes, short and slightly curled hair, big pretty eyes, and an adorable smile. Despite the fact that it was only a black-and-white picture, Reed couldn't help but blush at it, or her, to be more accurate.

"Like her already, I see?" Gin asks. "She's called The Life. You can play around with your piddly little illumination cards, but _this_ is magic at its best. With the use of this card, it eliminates disease, sickness, poisons, and ill feelings of all kinds. When used, people will cease to die. People will become… immortal…" Gin goes on in a mystic tone, basking in the sheer euphoria of the good that his creation could do.

Reed takes a step back and raises his eyebrows in disbelief. "_Immortality_? But mum told us that life was a precious thing. It's far too precious to just tamper with using magic. Terrible things can happen to those who muck around with life. Don't you listen to anything mum told you?" Reed asks with skepticism, the greater good of Gin's plan apparently missing him by miles.

Gin hangs his head. "Don't you ever _think_? You're a Clow. I'm a Clow. Dad's a Clow. Mum is a Clow and a Li too! We're the most powerful magical beings ever! I think we can handle bending a few rules here and there, if it makes people's lives better," Gin boasts confidently.

Reed's eyes are drawn back to the enchantingly beautiful girl from Gin's picture. He shakes his head, trying to steady himself in his convictions. "This isn't going to work, you know," he warns.

Gin frowns as he goes to put the picture of The Life back on his wall, among the many other pictures he has around. "Should've known you were too much of a straight arrow to listen to reason…" Gin mutters. "I hope history remembers what a stupid git you are, Reed. We could've made history together. But if you're so tied down by what mum and dad say, I'll just have to do this myself!" he snaps at Reed.

Reed backs out of Gin's room, to be confronted by his father. "Dad!" he stammers in shock, his father getting the surprise on him.

Reed's father turns his eyes towards Gin as he steps away from the wall. Reed's father's eyes are also drawn to the picture of The Life that Gin hung up in his room. He scrutinizes the picture from outside Gin's room as he pulls Reed aside. "Son, it's time I tell you about the nature of time," he begins, dragging Reed behind him. Reed's father then takes a seat in front of his bonsai tree, which he then studies thoroughly. He pulls up a stool beside him. "Come," he calls to Reed.

Reed obliges, sitting on the stool his father pulled up. "What is it?" Reed asks.

Reed's father stares blankly at the bonsai tree for a few moments before responding. "One of the most important lessons that you will ever learn is that nothing ever happens by coincidence. Coincidental events are merely illusions, for all things are predetermined beforehand. Which is how individuals, like yourself, your mother, and your brother Gin, have such a great sense of the world beyond merely what we see," he goes on.

Reed tilts his head, puzzled by what his father is telling him. "So… what is it that causes everything?" Reed asks inquisitively.

"Hitzusen," his father repeats back to him. "In this world, there are no coincidences. There is only Hitzusen."

Reed remains perplexed, having had a new word thrust squarely into his vocabulary without as much as even a formal definition. "Why are you telling me this, dad?" Reed asks.

"The girl that Gin drew," Reed's father responds. "Remember the lesson of Hitzusen, son. Lives beyond our own will depend on it."

Reed ponders the thought for a moment, until he lets his jaw drop, almost landing on the table. "You don't mean…?" he whispers, fright-filled.

Reed's father smiles a corny smile back at Reed. "Do not be afraid, son. Don't be afraid. There is another lesson that you must know."

"Which is?" Reed asks.

Reed's father stares intensely at the bonsai tree again. "There's a Japanese expression that your mother will tell to me whenever I'm feeling down, and it's a very good saying because it's very true. Zettai daijobu. It means that everything will be alright. If you know of these two things, you will never need to worry."

"Ze-zu… Zitta… Zet…" Reed says, struggling to pronounce the expression his father told him. "Zet…tai… dai…jo...bu…" Reed quotes at last. "No matter what, everything will be alright?" Reed asks his father.

"If you believe, then yes," Reed's father responds, placing a comforting hand on his shaken son's shoulder.


	2. 1 The Elixir of Fire

Chapter 1: The Elixir of Fire

_Tomoeda, Japan, 1996_

A tall, brown-haired man with glasses and a clipboard paces down a quiet, tall marble hallway. Each side of the hallway contains many glass-encased pieces of pottery, ancient artworks, suits of knight armor, and other archaic tidbits of times long past. The man wears a badge over his white dress shirt, reading (in kanji) "Kinomoto Fujitaka, Assistant Curator". Following behind him are two girls, one with long black hair carrying a camcorder, and another with short auburn hair carrying a notepad.

Fujitaka turns back to the two girls. "Are you getting a lot of interesting information for your summer assignments?" he asks.

Sakura, the short-haired girl, nods enthusiastically. "Thanks for opening this exhibit early, dad!" she responds gratefully.

Tomoyo, the latter girl, lowers her camcorder. "Kinomoto-sensei, was this stuff _all_ donated recently to the Tomoeda museum?" she asks.

Fujitaka continues to lead the girls down the hallway. "Well, not exactly. This tour of European artifacts goes all over the world, and will leave Tomoeda in about a month's time from the opening day," he explains.

Tomoyo again raises her camera, taking extra care to make sure she gets the entire exhibit on video. "Well if these things are going to be leaving soon, do you have any particular favorite pieces that you recommend?" she asks.

Fujitaka perks up and leads the two girls around the corner. "Now that you mention it, follow me. I found this particular piece rather interesting," he says as he leads the two girls into a dark, inner corridor of the museum.

This inner corridor is decorated with many famous European artworks, including the Mona Lisa and Starry Night. The walls are black marble, and the carpets are soft black. The little illumination in the hallway comes from lights pointed at the ceiling.

Sakura looks around at all the artwork in amazement. "Wow… these are amazing! You'd think the museum would put them in a little more light than they do so people can enjoy the pictures," she comments.

Fujitaka turns back to Sakura. "Well I suppose that's true, but too much light can damage the pictures. These older artworks are photo-sensitive, meaning that shining direct light on them can actually damage them because they're so old. That's why they're in here. If they were placed in an outer wing of the museum with more windows, the sunlight could dull the colors on the pictures. It's a similar principle to blank film, only less extreme," he explains. As he glances around the hallway, he leads Sakura and Tomoyo towards the exhibit he was looking for.

Tomoyo readies her camcorder as they approach the exhibit, when Fujitaka puts his hand on Tomoyo's camera and points it down.

"I'm sorry, Tomoyo-san, but by specific orders of the donators of this particular set of artifacts, we're not allowing visitors to photograph them," Fujitaka explains.

"But why not?" Sakura asks curiously as she approaches the exhibit.

This particular exhibit features a cubic hollow in the wall, covered by thick glass and locked up by a sophisticated locking device with a touchpad. Above the glass is a large label reading "The Kaos". To the side is a small description of the exhibit engraved onto a plaque. Inside are eight large card-looking parchments, stood up on stands and arranged in four rows. The first row contains two cards, and the second and third rows contain three cards each. The fourth row has a single stand on it, larger than the ones used to hold up the cards, but this fourth stand bears a small bottle. It appears to be made of a bright-orange-colored glass. The bottle itself is shaped like the skull of a bird, with a crooked beak-shaped lid in the top. The whole bottle has a loop of string attached to it, as if it was intended to be worn as a lanyard.

At studying the art on the cards more carefully, Sakura's jaw drops. "Hoee..." she moans as she hunches her back in disbelief. "You're kidding me…" she adds.

Each card is identical on all of their backs, bearing a grey background with black fringes. On the center of each card is a large oval that takes up most of the back of the card. This oval is a dark red and highly intricate geometric pattern. The first circle contains within it a second circle. Between the two circles are several zigzagging lines, like triangles coming out of the inner oval. Within the center oval is a large seven-pointed star with thin points, bearing resemblances to a pentagram. Within the nonagon in the center of this design is another, much broader-pointed seven-pointed star with another, smaller yet geometrically similar seven-pointed star in the exact center of the design, positioned in the same position but is only smaller than the former. The very center star is a deviation to the dark red of the rest of this symbol, as the center polygon is all black.

Sakura takes a step back away from the exhibit, unable to tear her eyes away from this item.

Fujitaka notices Sakura's nervousness at seeing the exhibit and kneels down next to her. "So, what do you think?" he asks casually?

Sakura breaks her nervous shell and shakes her head back and forth. "Oh, no, it's nothing. I'm okay. Just a little déjà vu, I guess," she says with a naively lying tone.

Fujitaka returns his gaze up to the cards. "So you think it looks familiar too? I thought they looked like something I've seen before. They remind me of a book I once found at an antique shop in Osaka," he explains, as Sakura begins to sweatdrop nervously. "It was this chained-up diary-looking book that had a winged lion on the cover. It had a similar-looking circle on the back of it, though much less intricate. Its cover read 'The Clow'. I would've submitted it to the museum myself, but it went missing about a year ago and I never found it. Weird…" Fujitaka continues, as Sakura continues to nervously sweat much more profusely.

Tomoyo reads the information plaque next to the display case before turning to Fujitaka and Sakura. "Fujitaka-sensei, this plaque says something about an Elixir of Fire. What's that?" she asks, breaking Fujitaka's concentration and allowing Sakura to breathe a deep sigh of relief.

Fujitaka stands to his feet and looks towards the orange bird-skull-shaped object placed behind the cards. "Oh, that. That little vase was quite the chore to put in there. Half of the technicians got burned trying to place it back there. Unusual how something so old could still be hot enough to burn someone's hand today. The scientific community wants to buy it off of us, smash it open and figure out what keeps it going, claiming that if we can figure out how it was done, we could develop a zero-emission heat source for energy. Of course, however, such artifacts as the Elixir of Fire must be protected first and foremost. After all, to forget our own history is what dooms us to repeat it," Fujitaka states.

Tomoyo returns to read the information plaque for the exhibit. "It doesn't say how that thing got the name 'Elixir of Fire' though. Who called it that?" Tomoyo inquires.

"Funny you should ask that, Tomoyo-san," Fujitaka begins. "This collection was originally donated to us by a Chinese family, and included a small and old book that tells us about the items. It was this that we learned that these papers were called 'Kaos Cards', and were believed to be magical. And the Elixir of Fire was in this record too, only the record ends early. The author of that guide doesn't mention what the Elixir of Fire does, but only mentions it by name. Weirder still, the family that donated it requested that the pamphlet be returned to them, as it was a family heirloom, so we were unable to translate everything written in it."

"Kaos Cards, eh?" Sakura inquires, taking notes on the clipboard she carries with her. Below her notes, she attempts to make a quick and very rough sketch of the circle that appears on the back of the Kaos Cards.

"Who donated these things to the museum?" Tomoyo asks Fujitaka.

Fujitaka smiles at Tomoyo. "A Chinese family generously donated this particular group of artifacts and then _insisted_ that we display them. They say it belonged to a distant English relative of theirs. The Li family," he concludes.

"L-Li-kun?!" Sakura exclaims in shock, dropping her clipboard on the floor and blushing slightly.

Fujitaka turns around and picks up Sakura's clipboard. "Now that I think about it, you had a classmate by that name, didn't you, Sakura-san? I remember after giving a speech on archaeology, he came up to me and asked me a lot of good questions. It seems like he has a rich archaeological background from growing up in such a historically fascinating family."

Sakura stands rigidly before grabbing her clipboard. "Y-yeah, a historically fascinating family. I guess you could say that…" she stutters.

_Sakura's room_

Sakura and Tomoyo both storm into Sakura's room, with clipboard and video camera in hand. Seeing Kero fast asleep on a pillow next to the still-running video game console that he apparently forgot to turn off before his nap, Sakura picks up Kero by the tail.

"Kero-chan, why didn't you tell me about the other cards?!" Sakura shouts angrily at Kero, dangling him upside down by his tail. Kero, in response, continues to sleep like a rock.   
"KERO-CHAN!" she shouts, finally waking Kero up.

Kero begins to flutter around and shake his tail free of Sakura's grip. He rubs his eyes with his stubby paw-like hands. "Wha, wha, wha… I'm up already. Sheesh, being the unquestionable Master of the Clow Cards must get to her head pretty quick…" he mutters, still drowsy.

Allowing no reprieve, she holds up her clipboard, showing her sloppy rendition of the magic circle on the back of the cards in the museum. "Kero-chan, this is important! Have you ever seen any magic circle like this before?" she interrogates.

Finishing rubbing his eyes, he levitates over to take a closer look at the circle that Sakura sketched out. "Alright, alright, let's see what the fuss is about…" he says before staring at the circle with his paw on his chin. "Hmm… hmmm… maybe... no, wait… it could be…" Kero mutters, pondering deeply.

"You don't know, do you?" Tomoyo asks innocently.

"PAH!" Kero scoffs, striking a heroic pose. "I'm the Guardian Beast of the Clow Cards! There's nothing about magic that I don't know!" he boasts, and then returns to pondering the circle. "Hmm. Although Clow Reed wasn't the only person to ever use magic circles before. It was a pretty popular practice. It was like inventing your own personal signature. Hard to remember them all, but this looks like a comparatively simple design. It's probably a really early one. Not Clow's, I can tell that for sure. He may have been a quack, but he definitely wasn't evil," he deduces.

"Evil?" Sakura and Tomoyo ask in unison.

"Where did you find this pattern, and what color was it?" Kero inquires.

Sakura flips through other pages on her clipboard. "Well, dad opened up an exhibit on European History. There were eight cards with this pattern in an exhibit. And the circle was dark red," Sakura answers, referring to her notes. "Oh, and it was donated by Li-kun's family," she adds off the top of her head.

"The kozo's folks?" Kero comments, now intrigued. He scratches his head. "It _must_ be related to Clow if the Li family had it. And a dark red magic circle. Now that you mention about it possibly being tied to the kozo, I do remember vaguely a circle like that, but it wasn't dark red. It was more of a silver-color."

Sakura sets her notepad aside. "So who created it, and why am I just figuring this out now? Why didn't you tell me about these new cards when I was collecting the Clow Cards? And what do you mean by evil?"

Kero flutters over to Sakura's bed, where she haphazardly tossed her sketchbook. He takes another good long stare at the magic circle that Sakura sketched, particularly staring at the center broad seven-pointed star that Sakura had doodled in particularly darker than the rest of the circle. "The center star was darker than the rest of the circle, wasn't it? This was a particular no-no of designing one's own magic circle. The most central body is supposed to be the brightest part of it. If the center part is dark, then the cards will derive their powers from the darkest essences of their creator. But this is an elementary mistake. No magician in their right mind would design a circle like this deliberately. The circle was probably designed properly first, and then fell apart as the sorcerer delved into darker and darker magic," he explains.

"So, the sorcerer that made this circle started good and ended up bad?" Tomoyo deduces.

"Looks like it," Kero answers, nodding his head back and forth at the sight of the circle. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a shame. It's so hard to find a good, pure sorcerer nowadays. A lot of these older guys went corrupt when learning of the magic they were capable of. Sure, it _starts_ as innocently as wanting to do good by one's fellow man. But then they lose their sense of restraint, then their control, and their sanity. They become addicted to their own power, and will create more and more of it, until it consumes them completely, and the magic itself dies…" Kero drones on, not realizing how close an attention Tomoyo and Sakura are paying.

"The magic… dies?" Sakura asks softly, beginning to shiver.

"What happens when magic dies?" Tomoyo asks Kero.

Kero turns back to Tomoyo with an ominous look in his eye. "It becomes a ghost," Kero answers grimly.

"HOEEEEE!" Sakura screams, shrinking away from the conversation and curling up into a ball on the floor. "Kero-chan, why did you have to use the G-word? You know I can't stand ghosts!" she whimpers.

"Sakura-chan…" Tomoyo begins, reaching toward Sakura and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay to be afraid," Kero responds. "…because unlike the nearly powerless ghost of a human, the ghost of a magic card is a terrible thing to behold," he continues as he points toward Sakura's desk. One of the drawers cracks open slightly and a Clow Card flies out of the drawer. Kero turns the card around and shows it to Tomoyo and Sakura, who slowly regains her confidence and returns her attention to Kero.

"Windy?" Sakura asks quizzically.

Kero takes hold of the card and stares at it. "Windy, for example, is a very gentle card. She's soothing, compassionate, graceful, the epitome of good will and good magic. However, if Windy were to turn into a ghost card, she would abandon all of these traits and resort to the naturally capricious state of all magic. Her daily activities would be creating menacing tornadoes, whipping up monstrously destructive hurricanes, destroying crops, crashing airplanes, capsizing ships, and all manner of unspeakable nastiness attributable to flowing air. She would descend into utter chaos," Kero explains reverently. "And that is what your job is as the new Master of the Cards, Sakura. Your job is to keep the Clow Cards from falling like this," he explains.

"And _my_ job is to make sure you look fashionably stylish while doing so!" Tomoyo adds, pointing her camera at Sakura, attempting to lighten the mood.

Sakura ponders Kero's previous statement to herself. "Chaos… Chaos… Wait a second…" she mutters before grabbing her clipboard and reading the notes she had made. "The Kaos!" she reads. "I knew I saw that somewhere before. Kero-chan, I think they're called the Kaos Cards! Have you ever heard of _anything _like Kaos Cards before?" she asks Kero frantically.

"Kaos Cards?!" Kero responds in disbelief. He punches his palm as he nods in disbelief and turns away from Sakura and Tomoyo. "Kaos…" he broods, among multiple ominous "hmm"s and "umm"s.

"KERO-CHAN!" Sakura shouts. "Just _what_ are we dealing with here that's worth raising such a fit?!"

Kero shakes all over with frustration and fear. "The Kaos Cards… They were _never_ supposed to get out!" he says as he takes hold of the Windy Card and hands it over to Sakura. "I told you about the kinds of things that ghost cards are capable of. Kaos was the first ever Card Captor in history, before Clow Reed showed the world his incredible magic. Kaos died in a tragic incident, while creating his own cards. And with his life went the lives of all his own cards. They all turned into ghost cards in one fell swoop, and are embodied with the power of Kaos's fury and anger at the time of his death, making them the most powerful magic cards in the world, each one capable of unimaginable destruction. Even with Clow's great magical powers, he couldn't fully defeat the Kaos Cards in their entirety, so he sealed them away, never to be released again. Those cards overcame Clow Reed, as great as a magician as he was, and were almost his undoing. And to think Clow arranged for people to put those hideous things in a museum to be gawked at by tourists, who will never be told the full-scale of destruction caused by the Kaos Cards. It's enough to turn your stomach on end," Kero monologues.

Sakura takes the Windy card from Kero and hugs it close to herself. "So… what are we supposed to do now that those Kaos Cards are out?" she asks, still in stunned disbelief.

"Leave," Kero says to Sakura. "I couldn't in good conscience ask you, the world's youngest Card Captor, to deal with the world's most dangerous Card Captor. If you try to fight them, you, and everyone you hold dear, will not survive. Those cards will do anything they can to anyone around you in order to defeat and even kill you. If you leave now, there's a small chance that the Kaos Cards won't have noticed that you are the Card Captor of the Clow Cards, and they won't chase you. I'm not advising you, Sakura. I'm _begging_ you. I've been at the death-bed of one master already in my lifetime, and I'm not anxious to be at the death-bed of another."

Sakura ponders the offer for a moment, but then smiles comically back at Kero. "I'll do it!" she declares. "If those things get out, who knows what they could do to Tomoeda, and even the world. But they won't. Because I'm going to stop them right here and right now! I'm the world's only Card Captor, and it looks like I've got one more task ahead of me. Those cards won't even know what hit 'em. Zettai daijobu!" she boasts confidently.

Tomoyo places a hand on Sakura's shoulder in support of her friend. "And I'll be right there beside you, making sure that you go into battle with full style and maximum cuteness!" she adds.

Sakura hangs her head at Tomoyo's overjoyed display of exuberance. "How did I know that was coming?" she asks herself rhetorically.

Kero sighs deeply at the girls' naïve enthusiasm. "Sakura, I want you to know first of all that I do _not_ support this foolish decision of yours. But if you honestly believe that you can get the job done, and will go out there and do it regardless, just know that I'll be right there by your side, lending my help in any way I can," he encourages. "It's time for Card Captor Sakura to go for one more adventure!"

"And time for a new battle pose," Tomoyo adds, pointing her camera at Sakura like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Hoee!" Sakura whimpers.

_The Museum, late that night_

Tomoyo's van is parked right outside the museum, with Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero inside, fervently planning for the most dangerous adventure of their lives.

Tomoyo rummages through the racks of specially designed clothes, as if looking for a particular pattern. "Sakura-chan, I made another outfit just for this very occasion that I wanted you to wear on your first adventure battling the Kaos Cards. Now where did I put that thing? I just made it this evening…" she goes on.

Sakura puts her hands up defensively. "Well technically, I'm not facing them, and I hope that I never have to. But…" she pauses, trailing off into deep thought and attracting Kero's and Tomoyo's attention.

"Sakura, you're not rethinking this already, are you?" Kero asks, flying up into her face.

Sakura stares on blankly for a moment. "It's just that… those cards. They're my dad's favorite part of the exhibit. And he really wanted to put the Clow Cards on display too. It seems like I'm always taking things away from him…" she laments.

Kero toughens up his voice. "The Clow Cards were fated to fall into your control, just like you're fated to go after those Kaos Cards. And Kaos Cards aren't going to be as forgiving to the lives of civilians as the Clow Cards were. Could you imagine what those Kaos Cards could do to the tourists that come to see them? Don't psyche yourself out. Those Kaos Cards could end your life without a second thought. Don't make it any easier for 'em by not bringing your game face. C'mon, zettai…?"

"…daijobu, I know, I know," Sakura finishes after a moment, rubbing her eyes.

"Aha, I found it!" Tomoyo announces, pulling out a set of clothes on a hangar for Sakura and Kero to see.

"Hoee, this is gonna' be a _long_ night…" Sakura whimpers.

_A few minutes later…_

"AAAAAAA, it's adorable!" Tomoyo squeals, admiring her handiwork with her camcorder in hand and an enormous grin on her face.

Sakura poses outside the van, wearing Tomoyo's latest battle costume. The costume has a very strong leopard theme to it, with long, leopard-spotted gloves, equally long leopard spotted boots, a black short-sleeved shirt with a leopard vest, a hair band with round leopard-like ears, and even a short leopard-spotted skirt with a leopard tail trailing out the back.

"Don't tell me: leopard camouflage?" Sakura asks unenthusiastically.

Tomoyo lowers her camera for a moment. "Of course, Sakura-chan. What better way to sneak into a heavily-guarded museum than dressed as a stealthy leopard? And a cute one at that?"

"But don't you think cute sort of defeats the purpose of stealth? The only people there to see me are you, Kero-chan, and the guards, and if the guards see us, it's all over…" Sakura argues desperately.

Tomoyo puts a finger on her chin. "You make a good point there, Sakura-chan," she comments before climbing back into the van.

"Uh… what are you doing?" Sakura asks nervously, though not really wanting to hear the answer.

"I'm getting leopard makeup to make you a _super_ cute leopard!" Tomoyo answers back from inside the van.

"Hoee! Can't we just get this over with?" Sakura whimpers pathetically.

_A few more minutes later…_

Sakura stands outside the locked gate to the museum with her key in star pendant form in hand and goofy spots-and-whiskers patterns of makeup on her cheeks.

Kero flutters beside Sakura. "Okay, here's the plan. First, find the Kaos Cards. Then, quickly hit 'em with the Fiery card. If you can destroy 'em without incident, that's the best-case-scenario," Kero whispers to Sakura.

"That sounds too easy to me. Will it work?" Sakura whispers back skeptically.

Kero puts a paw on his chin. "Probably not, but if it does, we can't afford _not_ to try it. The worst thing that could happen is that it won't work. But there's a chance that it might work because the Kaos Cards have been without a living master for over two centuries, so their powers, like those of the Clow Cards when you first found them, may be a little on the rusty side, so there's a chance you could get rid of 'em before they notice you're there if you're quick about it," he clarifies.

"But first we have to immobilize those guards. The Sleep card should do the trick," Sakura adds, as she holds out her star pendant.

"Key hiding the powers of the Darkness, reveal your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract: release!" Sakura commands, as the key grows into a wand with a pink-nosed bird head and materializes in her hand. Sakura twirls the wand for a couple of rotations, still thinking over the dilemma of destroying the Kaos Cards before pulling out one of her Clow Cards from a pocket in her vest. "Afflict all the security guards within with a deep rest. Sleep!" she commands, flicking the card out and touching the tip of her wand to the card.

After summoning the card, a bluish-white sparkling dust rains over the entire museum.

Sakura pauses and takes a deep breath before reaching for another card in her bag and pulling out the Float card. Momentarily, Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero are levitating over the tall metal gate of the museum, careful to not make a sound. The Float card slowly sets the three intruders on the ground before dissipating.

Kero flutters next to Sakura and begins whispering in her ear. "Psst, Sakura, be careful! That was your second card already and we haven't even walked into the museum yet. Make sure to conserve your magic, just in case things get a little wild in there. You have no idea how badly those Kaos Cards would want to take a cheap shot at you if you run out of magic, so don't give them that chance," he advises quietly, as Sakura replies with a quick nod.

"Sakura-chan, also watch out for security cameras and silent alarms," Tomoyo adds with a whisper. "A place like this is going to be heavily guarded with the most state-of-the-art anti-theft devices," she adds.

Sakura turns back to Tomoyo with an innocent grin. "Well, technically I'm not a thief…" she whispers in response.

"And that's because technically, you're about to be a vandal," Kero replies, patting Sakura on the shoulder.

Sakura lowers her head. "Thanks Kero-chan, that makes me feel _soooo_ much better about this…" she responds sarcastically before reaching into her vest for another two Clow Cards as she holds them up. "Loop, cycle through the security camera's footage. Through, allow us to pass through the walls. Loop! Through!" Sakura declares strongly, yet still with a low volume.

Upon activation, the Loop card heads straight for a nearby window of the museum, presumably going after the nearest surveillance camera. Through, however, forms a barrier around Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero. The three then quietly tiptoe through the empty outdoor patch around the museum's perimeter before tiptoeing straight through the solid outer wall of the museum.

Penetrating the inside wall, the magic bubble created by the Through card dissipates.

"Good idea with using Loop and Through, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo encourages.

"No, bad idea!" Kero responds sternly, getting Sakura to turn towards him.

"Huh? What for? Did I do something wrong?" Sakura asks, puzzled and confused, holding up the now rematerialized Through card in hand.

Kero sighs before turning to Sakura again. "I _told_ you to be careful about using too many Clow Cards at once. Your magic isn't strong enough to use too many of them, and you're going to need everything you've got to beat the Kaos Cards. And to make matters worse, the more of Clow's magic you use, the more likely the Kaos Cards are to wake up," he responds in a nagging tone.

Sakura pulls a large handful of the Clow Cards out from her vest pocket. "I'm sorry, Kero-chan, but it's this whole being the new master of the Clow Cards thing. This is the first time I've had all of the Clow Cards at my disposal at once, so I have a lot of different kinds of magic to keep us from getting caught, and it seems wasteful not to use them all," she responds defensively, staring at a deck full of the remainder of unused Clow Cards. "It wouldn't make sense to preserve my magic at the expense of getting caught by…" she mutters, hugging the Clow Cards close to her chest.

Tomoyo lowers her camera, catching the drift of Sakura's feelings. "Sakura-chan… You don't want your dad to find out that you're trying to destroy his favorite exhibit. Is that it? …Sakura-chan?" she asks, rhetorically.

After a lengthy pause, Sakura begins to tear up and sniffle, her hands slightly trembling. "When catching the Clow Cards… I've had to do a lot of things behind dad's back that hurt him. When catching Sleep, I broke his laptop and ruined weeks of research. Against Cloud, I got really sick and pulled him away from a huge dig he was looking forward to going to. And when I first opened the Clow Book up, I've never been straight with him about taking the Clow Book out of his library in the first place. He thought a burglar took it. He was going to put it in this museum too. It would've made him very happy. And now… to keep the Kaos Cards from running amok…" she goes on, gripping the Clow Cards tighter and wiping tears out of her eyes with the sleeves of her leopard gloves. "…I thought I was done. I just don't want to hurt dad anymore…" she cries.

Kero notices Sakura's tears dropping to the floor. "Sakura, to remind you, I disapproved of this from the start. _You_ were the one who talked _me_ into it. If you're having any second thoughts about this, we should just leave now. Who knows? The Li family sent these things. Maybe they'll have some way to deal with them too. And as much as I _hate_ giving that kozo credit for finishing what Clow Reed started, it's not worth putting you in this kind of danger without you being on your toes," Kero suggests.

"No!" Sakura snaps back stubbornly, still fighting back her tears. "If I leave the Kaos Cards here, they'll attack dad and everyone who comes to see them. I'm the world's only Cardcaptor, so this is my job, and my duty. But if I just leave now without confronting the Kaos Cards, what happens to everyone because of them will be something even harder to live with than lying to dad," Sakura reasons, wiping the last of her tears away. "Let's finish what we came here to do!" Sakura adds with renewed confidence.

After tiptoeing down several hallways and corridors and bypassing several soundly-sleeping security guards, Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero make their way into the inner wing of the museum, where Tomoyo and Sakura had seen the Kaos Cards earlier that day. As the three approach the case, they stare at the Kaos Cards in unison. The Kaos Cards, in response, are just as they were earlier that day, with the slight orange glow of the Elixir of Fire in the back casting a wicked corona of energy on the lesser Kaos Cards, which is considerably more visible at night with the few lights in the inner wing turned off.

"So here they are, after all these years. Ultimate destruction is just beyond this glass window…" Kero whispers reverently.

Sakura grips her wand tightly, pulling out the Firey card from her vest. "And they're not getting out if I have anything to say about it…" Sakura begins, preparing to call on Fiery.

"Sakura-chan, wait!" Tomoyo beckons with an urgent whisper, interrupting Sakura and pointing to a small caption under the glass window, reading "Kevlar-reinforced glass". "It's fireproof," Tomoyo reads.

Sakura lowers her wand as well as the Fiery card as she begins to groan in the tediousness of the task. "Hoee… This just keeps getting more and more challenging…" she whimpers.

Tomoyo scrutinizes the bulky, high-tech locking device on the right side of the window. The device itself has a small, self-illuminating LCD screen over a glow-in-the-dark numerical touchpad. The LCD screen itself reads "Please type in the 3-digit code to unlock:".

Kero also notices the locking device. "Don't try to bust the glass with a Clow Card. You'll set off a silent alarm, or worse, wake the Kaos Cards. You've got one good cast left that the Kaos Cards don't seem to have noticed, so save Fiery for that when you get the case open," Kero instructs.

Tomoyo looks back away from the locking device and towards Kero. "But a three-digit combo lock has one thousand different combinations possible. While we could open all of them, these kinds of devices tend to set off alarms if you type in the wrong code too many times, so we'll have to be lucky guessers right now," she comments.

Sakura fixes her eyes on the Kaos Cards, as well as the Elixir of Fire that illuminates them. "We won't have to guess. I think I know the pass code," she comments monotonously as she reaches towards the keypad, much to Tomoyo's and Kero's shock. Sakura slowly types in the three digit combination of 5-2-0, causing three asterisks to appear on the LCD screen, before she finally presses a defined enter key.

Kero and Tomoyo stand back in anticipation, keeping their fingers crossed that the combination unlocks the case. The LCD screen reads "Processing…" before momentarily displaying "Password Accepted!" and the lock pops open, allowing Kero and Tomoyo to breathe in a sigh of relief.

"Dad really did love this exhibit," Sakura comments, not showing any surprise to the code working on the first guess.

"How could you figure out that code in just one try?" Kero inquires, as if it was by some magic that Sakura knew.

Sakura takes a moment to wipe her eyes again with the back of her hand. "5-2-0," she explains, "…it meant May 20th. That was my mom's birthday. It was a predictable pass code, coming from dad. He probably wished that mom could be around to see the defining moment of his archaeological career. And evil cards or not, I wish she could've seen dad succeed too…" she states, holding her tears back as she reaches to swing the door open.

As soon as Sakura budges the door open, the orange glow of the Elixir of Fire flares out brightly, enveloping all the other Kaos Cards in a blinding red glow, forcing Sakura, Kero and Tomoyo to cover their eyes.

"What's happening?" Sakura asks Kero loudly.

"It's started! Looks like the Kaos Cards knew you were Clow's selected Cardcaptor all along and were just playing us for a bunch of chumps, those sneaky little devils!" Kero responds.

From inside the case, the Kaos Cards all begin to slightly vibrate before dissipating into red flickers of energy as they shoot out of the case through the tiny opening. The Elixir of Fire remains, and the glow from it subsides to its more typical weak orange.

As Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero turn back to the now nearly empty display case, they notice that all the Kaos Cards have vanished, and the Elixir of Fire has returned to a normal orange glow, or at least as normal an orange glow as it can emit.

"Hoee! They got out!" Sakura exclaims.

"Did we fail?" Tomoyo asks Kero.

Kero flutters around, frantically trying to figure out where the Kaos Cards went to. "For right now we did, but we can take care of the Kaos Cards later. Right now, we need to get out of here as soon as we can. Now that the Kaos Cards are active, they'll come after us, particularly Sakura. And after four casts already, Sakura needs to conserve her magic more than ever now," Kero explains before turning towards Sakura. "But first, Sakura, get that Elixir of Fire. If that's the source of the Kaos Cards' magic, then by destroying that, we can wait out the Kaos Cards as their magic expires," he instructs.

Sakura nods before reaching into the display case and quickly grabbing the bird-skull-shaped orange vial tightly in her hand before recoiling in shock. "OW! The stupid thing burned me!" she exclaims.

Kero sighs deeply. "Maybe that's why it was put it on a string, y'think?" he suggests snidely. "Look Sakura, if we get the Elixir of Fire out of here, then we can worry about the rest of the Kaos Cards when you've got more of your magic back. If we can't fight the Kaos Cards now, let's at least not leave empty-handed!" he orders.

Sakura reaches into the display case again, grabbing the string tied to the beak of the container before yanking it out of the case and examining it. In response, the eyes of the structure flicker a dark red glow. "Kero-chan, what does the Elixir of Fire do exactly?" she asks, oblivious of the Elixir of Fire's fluctuation.

"Not sure off the top of my head, now let's just get out of here before the guards wake up!" Kero instructs frantically.

Sakura balls up a fist as the Elixir's glow flickers. "Wow, you're_ really_ useful when dealing with magical artifacts, aren't you? Don't you know _anything_?!" she shouts at Kero angrily.

"Hey, I do my best!" Kero growls back at Sakura, getting in her face.

"Cut it out, you two!" Tomoyo begs, trying to get in between the two fuming individuals and yanking the Elixir of Fire's lanyard out of Sakura's hands.

As the Elixir of Fire is forced from her grip by Tomoyo, Sakura's concentration breaks instantaneously, causing her to hold her forehead. "Ohh… what was that?" she asks weakly.

"Never mind that. I told you not to use so many cards at once. Looks like the pressure is starting to get to you," Kero notices.

The three make their way quickly into the outer wing hallway of the museum. Tomoyo checks around the corners quickly with her camcorder before the three make a break for a nearby window. Kero floats behind Tomoyo quickly, as Sakura picks up the rear while still rubbing her forehead.

"Sakura-chan, pick up the pace," Tomoyo whispers forcefully at Sakura as she and Kero have reached a window leading outside.

Sakura tries to jog over to the window to join Kero and Tomoyo, but is interrupted in her dash in the middle of the corridor by the sound of metal in contact with stone. "Hoee?" she squeaks minutely as she darts glances all around her. The sounds continue, causing Sakura to freeze in place and shiver. "W-w-what's that sound?" she asks frantically.

Clanking sounds continue to echo throughout the hallways, originating from a darker end of the corridor. Soon, the source of the sound steps in front of another open window down the hallway. The loud metallic sounds come from a suit of medieval knight armor, standing under its own power and carrying a large and heavy sword. The age-dulled armor shines softly in the moonlight from the window it slowly shuffles past as it approaches Sakura.

"HOEE! A GHOST!" Sakura screams.

Kero notices the self-standing suit of armor as well. "No, it's not quite a ghost. It's a ghost of a magical card. Sakura, it's a Kaos Card!" he declares.

Sakura darts toward Tomoyo and desperately grasps onto her. "A Kaos Card! Hoee, that's worse! Let's just get out of here!"

"There's a window over here," Tomoyo indicates, placing her hand on the metal bars over the window, attempting to budge the bars.

As Tomoyo grabs onto the metal bars covering the window, the metal of the bars bends out of shape and quickly wraps around Tomoyo's wrists, binding her up.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo shouts out in shock.

Sakura in response begins swinging her staff at the misshapen portions of the metal bars. "Hey, let go of her! Let go! Let go now!" she orders, swinging her staff harder and harder at the metal, all the while the knight armor slowly makes its way to where Tomoyo, Sakura and Kero are.

Glancing back between the bent bars and the knight armor, Kero quickly turns towards Sakura. "Industry! This is the Industry card!" he declares. "That's how it can levitate that armor and bend the metal around Tomoyo's wrists. If you seal it, the metal will return to its original shape," Kero instructs.

The knight armor now looms over the three. It raises its sword high into the air, preparing to strike down.

Sakura stands in between the immobile Tomoyo and the ominous knight armor. "Oh no you don't!" she declares, pulling out a Clow Card from her vest. "Shield!" she declares, as a translucent wing-shaped shield appears in between Sakura and the knight's sword just in the nick of time, blocking the attack. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turns her head towards Kero for a split second. "Kero-chan, is it safe to assume that I have to get the Industry card to show it's true form, just like the other Clow Cards, before I can seal it?" she asks.

"Basically," Kero responds. "But as Kaos Cards are undead magic cards, sealing them off could prove a little tricky. Also, considering the caliber of sorcerer that created them, they were powerful in their own right before falling. And I _really_ don't want to find out how dieing influences the power of a magical card," he adds.

The knight withdraws its sword away from the shield as the shield dissipates, and the knight takes a few steps back, preparing to charge.

"Wood!" Sakura commands, tapping her wand to the end of another Clow Card. Vines erupt from that card and intercept the armored behemoth in the middle of the charge, but its sword slices straight through the vines, causing the severed weeds to shrivel up and vanish into sparkling dust.

"Sakura, you can't beat metal with Wood!" Kero warns.

The knight armor tediously backpedals away again and raises its sword high.

"Then I'll fight it head-on," Sakura boasts as she pulls out yet another Clow Card. "Sword!" she declares, tapping her wand against the next Clow Card, causing her wand to dissolve and rematerialize as a brass blade with a jewel-encrusted sharp tip. She swings the new sword at the knight, but the blade simply bounces off the knight's breastplate, showing no damage at all. In response, the armor raises a high knee, knocking Sakura across the floor.

Sakura slowly climbs to her feet as the moving suit of armor approaches yet again, while she herself shows far more frailty than the suit of armor opposite her. "Maybe the Mist card can erode it away…" she struggles to say, fighting to pull out another card from her vest.

"Don't count on it," Kero responds. "If Sword bounced straight off of its armor like that, Mist probably won't do much good here either. We need to get away somehow," he tells Sakura.

"Sakura, use Dash!" Tomoyo advises, her hands still being bound to the bars on the window.

Sakura turns to her restrained friend. "No, I'm not leaving you here!" Sakura insists. "If Industry wants a piece of me, I'm right here…" she continues, holding her staff tightly.

"But Sakura-chan, if you stay here, it'll take as many pieces of you as it wants to," Tomoyo warns. "I'll be fine, just get out of here!" she insists as the suit of armor takes more and more strides towards Sakura's position.

In between a flash of epiphany and a flash of madness, Kero quickly takes the Elixir of Fire that Tomoyo held by the lanyard and swings it towards Sakura. "Sakura, take the Elixir of Fire and run! It seems to be drawn to its source of power, so if you have that, it'll follow you. Now go!" Kero orders.

Without thinking, Sakura grabs the Elixir of Fire out of the air, but she grabs it by the bottle. "OW! Wrong end, wrong end, wrong end!" she frantically reminds herself. Flinching in pain from the burning heat of the bottle and shaking her burnt hand around, Sakura fumbles with the bottle as it plummets to the floor.

As the Elixir of Fire's container hits into the floor with a sound like a glass bottle against a rock, Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero stare frozen at the bottle, which seems miraculously untarnished. All three breathe a brief sigh of relief, but the beaked end of the bottle opens, causing the orange substance inside to shoot out of the bottle and form a circle around Sakura. After completing the circle, a pattern forms on the circle, which is identical to the pattern seen on the back of the Kaos Cards. Sakura stands perfectly still, seemingly frozen in time, as this circle is drawn under her by the emptied contents of the Elixir of Fire. After the completion of this pattern, the entire circle shoots up a pillar of fire, enveloping Sakura and causing her to scream out loudly. These events keep Tomoyo's and Kero's attention with a magnetic grip.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo screams to Sakura.

"A selection?!" Kero notices, as he is clearly shocked by the Elixir of Fire's unbound powers.

The cylinder of fire dies down, condensing around Sakura. As the flames clear more and more away, Kero and Tomoyo notice the flaming energy penetrating straight into Sakura's chest, causing Sakura to shoot bright orange light energy out her eyes and mouth. As the remainder of the energy completely permeates Sakura's body, she stands motionless, with her head hung and her entire body smoldering, though not physically burned. After a momentary pause, Sakura raises her head, revealing a bright orange glow in her eyes. She then raises her staff and lets it go, and flames from her palm consume the staff as it levitates in the air. She then mutters a mystic incantation in a deep voice, clearly not her own.

"Key of the powers of the Inferno, there is one seeking contract with you. Her name is Sakura…" she mutters before finally grabbing the staff out of the fires? The fire then plunges into the tip of the staff and cause it to change into the skull of a bird with a cruel, hooked beak, similar to her former Key of Clow, but with more of a zombie theme.

Seeing this causes the knight armor to back away, as if it were in fear.

"Kero-chan, what's a selection?" Tomoyo asks, unable to look away from the disturbing events that literally surrounded her friend.

Kero is no more able to break his stare than Tomoyo. "A selection is when the key of the former magician selects a new Card Captor. This allows the individual to use and seal cards from that particular sorcerer away. And the Elixir of Fire has apparently selected Sakura," he explains.

"So Sakura can seal away the Industry card easier, right?" Tomoyo asks.

"Well we're about to find out…" Sakura says confidently, though not in her typical childlike tone. She lifts up her new staff as she pulls out the Fiery card. She tosses it out in front of her as she prepares to swing down onto it. "Fiery, consume the… hey!" she begins, but is interrupted as the Fiery card levitates over to Kero. "Worthless scrap of paper... it deserted me!" she shouts at Kero, trying to reach at Kero to retrieve the Fiery card.

Kero holds up the Fiery card, handing it back to Sakura again, but Fiery slips out of Sakura's hands again and floats back to Kero again.

"Kero-chan! Make the stupid card come to me! It's an attack card, and I'm ordering it to attack!" Sakura shouts at Kero.

Kero stares at the card and feels its surface with his paw. "It's afraid of you, Sakura," Kero explains.

"Darn right it's afraid of me. I'm the master, and the card is the slave. I called the card out, and the card disobeyed my order!" Sakura shouts, snagging Fiery away from Kero and stuffing it into her vest pocket.

"Sakura-chan, you're not yourself…" Tomoyo whispers in fear, barely recognizing Sakura after being infused with the Elixir of Fire.

The suit of armor begins pacing towards the group again, noticing Sakura's inability to activate the Fiery card.

Tomoyo begins struggling against the bent bars again, getting Sakura's attention. "Ugh, do I have to do _everything _around here?" Sakura groans as she kneels down next to Tomoyo and grabs the metal bars that wrap around her hands. Sakura's very touch against the bars causes them to smolder and turn red as Sakura bends the bars back into their normal position by hand, freeing Tomoyo's wrists. "Ironic how_ this_ knight in shining armor is the one putting the damsel into distress in the first place. Get a boyfriend, Tomoyo. Maybe he'll tolerate you dressing him up like a clown. Write him some freaking emo music while you're at it…" she grunts heartlessly and with deep frustration before taking up her transfigured staff once more and facing the walking suit of armor. In defiance, Sakura wipes the kiddy makeup off her cheeks, preparing to confront the armor suit with all seriousness.

The suit of armor raises its sword high and approaches Sakura before stopping. It swings its large sword, but Sakura quickly deflects the sword with a mere backhand, swatting it out of the knight's grip with minimal effort, causing Tomoyo and Kero to drop their jaws in shock.

The knight's glove was still gripped around the sword as the glove was knocked away. Revealed is a long, thin metal coil, appearing like a wire, but considerably thicker, protruding from the missing limb of the armor.

"Sakura, that coil is the Industry's true form! If you can get the armor off it, you can seal it away," Kero instructs, pointing at the cable hanging out from the armor suit.

"Gee, like I haven't figured that out myself," Sakura remarks, rolling her eyes at the obviousness of Kero's statement. She grabs the opposite glove of the knight's armor before tearing it off with her bare hands, revealing another metal cable under the armor. She then quickly takes her staff and swings it at the backsides of the knees of the knight armor, tearing away the leg pieces and tossing them back down the corridor. More of the cables are revealed, but they shrink back into the breastplate of the knight's armor, falling to the floor before Sakura. With a swift kick, Sakura knocks off the helmet of the knight armor, revealing a giant wad of cables holed up where the knight helmet was. "And I heard that Kaos Cards were tough. Pathetic little coward," she demeans before raising her staff and the circle from the Kaos Cards appearing under her feet once again. The ball of cables attempts to squirm away, but it falls out limply like mechanical spaghetti. "Return to your true form, Kaos Card!" Sakura commands, smashing the hooked beak against the balled up wad of cables. In a burst of flames and orange light, the Industry card emits a mechanical shriek. It finally succumbs to the sealing spell and conforms to a different shape, the Kaos Card that it was. The card floats towards Sakura, who grabs it forcefully out of the air, almost crumpling it.

"One down, seven to go," Sakura concludes ominously before glaring back at Tomoyo and Kero, who flinch away.

_Momentarily…_

Tomoyo, Kero, and a still-possessed Sakura stand outside a big, gaping hole blasted in the outermost wall of the museum.

Sakura leans back on the wall and folds her arms smugly. "Well, all's well that ends well. I've been selected as the new Cardcaptor of the Kaos, I sealed off the Industry card, and the Elixir of Fire has decided to bestow its awesome powers on me. A great night, despite having to put up with you two losers," she reflects, glaring meanly at Tomoyo and Kero, holding up the Industry card, as well as her brand new key.

"Sakura, would you just listen to yourself for once?!" Kero snaps back. "That Elixir of Fire is getting to your head, and we're gonna' get it out of you if it kills us!" he declares. "Right, Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo turns her head away from Sakura, ignoring Kero altogether. "Sakura-chan… You really think I'm useless?" she mutters.

"Speak up, field mouse. I can't quite hear you over the crickets," Sakura jabs with a wicked smirk.

"Sakura, apologize to your friend!" Kero orders.

Sakura turns away from Kero. "Sure thing, _mommy_, right after I do my nails," she replies sarcastically.

Kero frowns. "Funny you mention your mother. What do you think she would say if she were alive right now?" he asks, trying to jar a reaction.

Sakura stares up. "Oh, I don't know. Probably something like 'help, help, get me out of here, this box doesn't have any air holes', or something like that," Sakura responds stoically.

Kero grits his teeth, preparing another response, when he is interrupted by the sound of Sakura's recorded voice, her normal voice, in the background. Turning back towards Tomoyo, Kero notices her balled up on the ground, looking at the display window of her camera, watching footage she had recorded few minutes ago, showing Sakura confessing that she doesn't want to hurt her dad's feelings.

Tomoyo cries, as she watches the footage play back. As footage of Sakura striking a cheesy grin rolls past, Tomoyo freezes the playback and stares deeply at the screen. "Sakura-chan… what happened to you?" she asks the Sakura on the display screen, clutching her camera close to her chest.

Kero keeps turned towards Tomoyo. "Sakura, when I thought that facing the Kaos Cards was going to kill you, and you said you'd be alright, it looks like we were both right. You walked out of that museum with ten fingers, ten toes, two arms, two legs, and a head on your shoulders. But the Sakura I knew… the Sakura that I selected… her heart in that museum tonight. You aren't my master anymore…" he says before fluttering over to Tomoyo's shoulder and perches there, watching the last shot footage of the old Sakura.

"Well if I'm not Sakura anymore, can I go home now?" Sakura asks before trotting off down the dark street.

Kero breaks his glare at the girl formerly known as Sakura before returning his attention to Tomoyo's video camera. The scene of Sakura's transformation is about to play again, and Tomoyo reaches for the rewind button. "No, wait, let it play," Kero tells Tomoyo, stopping her from rewinding the footage.

Tomoyo turns her head to see Kero perched on her shoulder. "Kero-chan? You _want_ to see the footage of Sakura turning into a monster?" Tomoyo asks weakly.

"What was THAT?!?!" a booming voice sounds from down the street.

"There might be some clue as to how to reverse the effects of the Elixir of Fire," Kero explains as the footage rolls. "Play it at half speed, so we don't miss anything," he suggests.

Tomoyo turns a small dial controlling the playback speed of the video she captured.

"I sure hope nobody up there suggested what I thought they did!" the possessed Sakura's voice booms, signaling her approaching.

Tomoyo and Kero are now viewing the scene in which Sakura is fumbling with the Elixir of Fire right before she drops it on the ground. The two stare intensively at the pixilated representation of the Elixir of Fire as it heads for the ground.

"Pause, now!" Kero tells Tomoyo, who complies. The video had frozen on the exact second when the Elixir of Fire hit the ground. "Now zoom in on it," Kero continues, and Tomoyo continues to follow his instructions.

With the magnified image on display, Kero and Tomoyo see the Elixir of Fire landing beak-first on the marble floor, and the beak caving in slightly.

"So it's like a soda bottle. Push in the beak, and the Elixir comes out…" Tomoyo notices as she fishes around in her pockets for something.

The enraged Sakura approaches Kero and Tomoyo, with the mutilated key and the Industry card in hand. "Heads will roll, you two. Nobody and I mean _nobody _calls Kinomoto Sakura a monster!" she bellows deeply.

Tomoyo pulls her hand out of her pocket and pulls out the empty glass case for the Elixir of Fire. "I knew this would come in handy!" she exclaims as she attempts to tap the nose of the bottle against the concrete sidewalk outside the museum. Despite her attempts though, the bottle doesn't open. "It's not working!" Tomoyo notices.

Sakura stops at point blank range in front of Tomoyo and Kero. She holds out her staff as the magic circle of the Kaos Cards appears on the ground below her feet. "Industry, silence these two weaklings for good," Sakura orders.

Kero frantically grabs the Elixir of Fire's container from Tomoyo and flies it at Sakura. "This better work!" he exclaims, rushing the bottle at Sakura's chest. Crashing into Sakura, the nose of the bottle buckles in slightly, causing the eyes of the bottle to glow a bright red, and depletes the orange glow from the magic circle below Sakura's feet. Sakura reels slightly with the opening of the bottle, dropping her key and the Industry card on the ground, with the key reverting back into the small star key form. Reddish orange energy pours out of Sakura's eyes and mouth in a torrent of flaming power. The energy flowing out of Sakura is sucked right into the bottle, filling it quickly. As the last of the energy flows out of Sakura's mouth and eyes, the bottle in Kero's arms seals up and the eyes glow dark red. Without the elixir's power flowing through Sakura, she falls limply toward the ground, when Kero and Tomoyo catch her. Kero is careful this time to not let the Elixir hit the ground.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo calls out, catching Sakura quickly. "Is she alright, Kero-chan?" she asks Kero.

Sakura begins to show signs of life, rubbing her eyes. "…uhhh… hoee… wait… Yukito-san…" she mutters in her unconsciousness while blushing a bright pink in the cheeks.

Kero and Tomoyo stare at each other. "If that doesn't prove it, I don't know what does…" Kero responds.


	3. 2 Perchance to Dream

Chapter 2: Perchance to Dream

The sun rises on Tomoeda as the small town begins showing its first signs of life of the day. But in one particular household, not all had gotten a restful night of sleep…

_Sakura's room_

The alarm clock on Sakura's nightstand rings and vibrates around furiously, but Sakura remains asleep, her head buried under layers of sheets, showing no signs of waking up anytime soon.

Over on Sakura's desk lay the materials from last night: the leopard-ear hair band from her battle costume, her star key, the Clow Cards resting in the Clow Book, and one single Kaos Card, The Industry. The Industry lays on the table, next to the standing, sealed and filled Elixir of Fire, emitting an eerie pulsating orange glow.

Kero sits on the windowsill in a meditative stance, watching the sunrise. 'Why, Clow?' he asks in thought. 'You're the only sorcerer who could've orchestrated something like what happened last night. And you almost lost your successor in the process. I know you can hear my thoughts. Even though you passed away close to two centuries ago, your presence still inhabits this world. Answer me… Clow Gin…'

The morning wind whips up and patters fall leaves against the window, as if to answer Kero.

'Your anger taints this world, Gin. I'll testify that my former master may have been a bit of a screwball. But he wasn't a psychopath,' Kero thinks, turning his head towards the Elixir of Fire and The Industry card. "The nobler the path, the deeper the madness," Kero whispers proverbially before levitating over to Sakura's nightstand and shutting off her alarm.

As Kero shuts off Sakura's alarm, he notices the lump under Sakura's covers, taking this as an indicator that his new master hasn't woken up yet after such a rough night. Approaching the lump that he perceives to be Sakura, Kero gently pokes at her from above the covers. Sakura responds by quickly snapping awake and throwing her covers over top of Kero.

Sakura wakes up with a scream before darting glances around her, realizing that she was asleep in her room. She reaches for her chest to control her heavy breathing when she notices that she is still wearing the same long gloves, vest, boots, and in fact her entire battle costume from the previous night, minus the ears and plus a serious case of bed-head. Even some of the makeup from the corners of her cheeks remains, as Sakura notices by removing a glove and wiping a finger across her cheeks. Staring at the makeup, Sakura tries to make sense of her current position, feeling detached from her surroundings. Her vision wanders to her desk, where the Elixir of Fire lay next to The Industry card.

Kero manages to squirm out from under a wad of Sakura's bed sheets that he had been buried under as he gasps for air. After catching his breath, he notices Sakura sitting up with a perplexed expression on her face. "Sakura… are you okay?" he asks nervously, not sure about Sakura's mental condition.

Sakura casts off her other long glove as she slowly rubs her eyes and steps out of her bed, drowsily pacing to her desk and leaning onto it. "I-I can't believe… that all… really happened," she whispers with ephemeral disbelief, reaching towards the Elixir of Fire's lanyard and lifting it up.

The Elixir twirls around in slow, rotational motions within the bottle. The bottle's eyes glisten wickedly back at Sakura.

Sakura responds by placing the Elixir around her neck. "I am under your contract…" she says to the bottle, as the Elixir of Fire itself responds with a deep, lion-like growl.

Not standing idly by, Kero quickly flies over to the dazed Sakura and gets in her face. "Sakura, put it down. You're stronger than that Elixir of Fire gunk. Resist its control!" he insists frantically. At Sakura's lack of compliance, he flies down to the Elixir of Fire, now hanging around Sakura's neck, as he grabs it with his whole body. In response, the heat of the bottle causes Kero to recoil in pain.

The Elixir of Fire growls again as the beak of the vial descends into the bottle, allowing the Elixir of Fire to pour out and form the Circle of Kaos below Sakura's feet. Repeating what happened in the museum the previous night, the Elixir of Fire pours straight into Sakura's heart as orange light pours out her eyes and mouth. As this light dies down, the Elixir's empty bottle closes up and the circle of energy disappears.

Now glowing in the evil energies of the Elixir of Fire, Sakura cracks a wicked grin. "Don't worry, Kero-chan. I'm still here, and feeling better, and more powerful than ever," she says to Kero, once again bearing the evil undertone that slowly merges into her normal voice. She reaches towards the Clow Book and grasps it firmly off the desk, closing it firmly and holding it shut, causing Kero to look on in worry.

"Sakura…" he mutters. "Sakura! Snap out of it!" he shouts, completely losing his cool and flying towards Sakura's wrist to bite her. Opening his mouth, he attempts to snap his meager jaws shut, but finds his bite is impeded by something on Sakura's skin.

Sakura grabs Kero firmly, straight out of the air, holding him to her face. "And I also have the power to not be bitten by teddy bears. Don't you remember the fight I had with the Industry? With the Elixir of Fire, I am invulnerable," she informs Kero before setting the Clow Book down and wrapping both her hands around a struggling Kero's torso. "…and with the Elixir of Fire protecting me and giving me strength, I have no need for a guardian…" she begins as she closes a vice-like grip on Kero.

Now released, the Clow Book throws itself open, allowing the Clow Cards to throw themselves out of the book and form a ring around Sakura, though keeping at arms length from their possessed master.

Sakura glances around as the Clow Cards surround her. "Don't worry, your Guardian Beast will only suffer momentarily," she chides sarcastically to the Clow Cards.

In response to Sakura, one of the cards begins horizontally spinning around, being surrounded by a small circle of Clow. Activating on its own, the rest of the Clow Cards back away, which allows for a giant mirror to appear behind Sakura. A girl with long green hair and a pale kimono looks on from the opposite side of the mirror, horrified at the emotionally-deformed remnants of her master before levitating through the surface of the mirror. As she emerges, she assumes Sakura's form.

Intrigued by the Mirror Card activating by itself, Sakura tosses Kero into a corner as she turns to face her mirror image. "What's the matter? Feeling a little insubordinate?" Sakura mocks, placing her hands on her hips.

Mirror begins shivering slightly at the frightening glare of her master until, with confident nerve, she grabs Sakura by the wrist. "Master Sakura, the Elixir of Fire is making you say and do things you don't mean," she insists, though coming out more of a weak plea.

"Who says I don't mean what I say?" Sakura responds, shaking her hand free from Mirror's pathetically light grip. "The Elixir of Fire doesn't _force _me to say anything, but merely allows me to voice the feelings that I've held deep in my heart this whole time. So how about I just keep the power of the Elixir of Fire? How about you and your friends just get out of my room," she begins, reaching towards her desk and picking up the Industry card and waving it in Mirror's face. "…because with this, I don't need Clow Reed or his pathetic magical misfits to baby-sit me. I'm feeling better and more powerful now than I've ever felt in my life," she continues before shoving Mirror across the room forcefully, where the other Clow Cards levitate behind her and catch her. "Take your friends and go play Fifty-Two Pickup over Tomoeda. Sucker someone else into putting up with you!" she yells.

Mirror slowly regains her balance before standing up to Sakura again. She is about to say something, but Sakura's fingers quickly grasp around her neck, causing her to choke. Mirror tries to fight off Sakura's iron-strong grip from crushing her windpipe. As her eyes begin to glass over, her struggling grows weaker and weaker.

Sakura grins sickly. "Ever since I got conned into rounding you cards up, I've always wondered something: Is it physically possible to kill a Clow Card? Now I'm not quite sure at the moment, but I bet we'll have a lot of fun finding out…" she tells Mirror as she lifts her off the ground by her neck. Seeing Mirror's eyes roll back into her head, she holds out her opposite hand to grab a long wooden pole. Attached to the end of this pole is a hideous, crooked, blood-stained scythe. Grabbing hold of this new weapon, Sakura raises it up, preparing to cleave Mirror in half. Sakura swings the scythe at Mirror.

_Sakura's room_

Sakura wakes up with a scream, flailing about frantically. Tossing off her covers, she instinctively snatches her alarm clock off her nightstand before shutting it off. Rubbing her eyes, she takes a look around the room, seeing nothing out of place.

"A… a dream?" she mutters.

From inside Sakura's desk, the bottom right-hand drawer cracks itself open, allowing Kero to fly out. "Morning, Sakura," he says to her, as if nothing was wrong.

Further scrutinizing her surroundings, Sakura looks at the backs of her hands, realizing that she is wearing her usual pink pajamas. "Kero-chan… what happened last night exactly?" Sakura asks Kero quizzically before climbing out of bed.

Kero flutters over to the window to crack it open and let the cool morning breeze in. "Nothing much. You did your report on European artwork after your dad took you to the museum. You and Tomoyo reviewed your notes. Why? Did you have a bad dream or something?" he responds typically.

Sakura takes a deep breath before sighing emphatically. "So it _was_ all just a dream…" she sighs with relief as she climbs out of bed and sets her feet down. But upon setting her feet down, she notices that she is wearing a pair of leopard-spotted boots. "What? Those boots. They're from… hoee!!" Sakura shouts, as the next thing she realizes, she is wearing her battle costume from when she thought she and Tomoyo broke into the museum. Sakura looks at her gloved hands and realizes that, in one of her hands rests the Elixir of Fire. "I'm going insane! Kero-chan, what is this?!?!" Sakura cries out in frantic disbelief, showing Kero the Elixir of Fire.

To further encourage panic to Sakura, her bedroom door swings open and Fujitaka, her dad, peeks in. Sakura quickly hides the Elixir of Fire behind her back in response, still in shocked disbelief and wearing an expression on her face to match.

"Good morning, Sakura-san, Kero-chan. How was your sleep?" Fujitaka asks both Kero and Sakura.

Kero flies over from the windowsill towards Fujitaka. "It was great. I feel all rested and rejuvenated after that break-in last night. But Sakura doesn't seem to be doing so well," he responds.

At hearing Kero's reply, Fujitaka walks through the doorway and paces towards Sakura. "Sakura-san, are you okay?" he begins as he kneels down to eye level with Sakura.

Sakura shakes her head nervously back and forth, keeping her hands behind her back in a pathetic attempt to hide the Elixir of Fire. "N-no, it's not what you think, dad! I didn't mean to! It just sorta' happened! I never wanted to hurt you!" Sakura insists in a frantic panic.

Fujitaka grabs Sakura's hands from behind her back, but Sakura fights back, doing her best to conceal the Elixir of Fire.

Kero floats over to Fujitaka's shoulder to offer a friendly yet unnerving smile in Sakura's direction. "C'mon, Sakura. Show your dad the Elixir of Fire you stole from the museum last night. He just wants to help," he says matter-of-factly.

"Why don't you _trust me_?!?!" Sakura screams. Breaking Fujitaka's grip on her wrists, she pulls her hands out from behind her back, revealing a giant scythe, similar to the one from her dream. Without thinking, Sakura takes the scythe and lunges at Fujitaka with it.

_Sakura's room _

Once again, Sakura wakes up with a jolt, grabbing her alarm clock and turning it off. After stopping her alarm, she grabs at her chest, feeling her own thunderously heavy heartbeats through the button-up shirt of her pink pajamas. When her breathing regularizes and she surveys the seemingly normal surroundings of her room, she puts on a frustrated expression. "Okay, this is getting _really_ annoying…" she growls.

"So you noticed it too?" Kero's voice responds. Kero flies up to Sakura's shoulder. "It's one thing to be nearly crushed to death by a possessed master, but that last one was just cheesy. And what was with that first one? Am I a poet all of a sudden or something?"

Sakura turns towards Kero as she quickly jumps out of bed. "So you're saying you remembered my dreams?" Sakura answers, surprised and feeling slightly relieved that her situation is no longer completely hopeless and confusing.

Kero puts a paw on his chin as he thinks. "It doesn't affect me because I'm a Guardian Beast with loyalty to Clow Reed. Which means that there's only one thing that this can be: a Kaos Card," he deduces.

"Hoee, so they're real?!" Sakura screeches, backing away from Kero and balling up her hands in front of her face.

"Unfortunately," Kero responds grimly. "And based on that scythe that appeared in both of your previous dreams, this card _has_ to be the Nightmare Card," he responds. "The Nightmare Card is extremely frustrating. It starts out by making you dream about your greatest outward fear, then delves deeper into your heart to uncover more subtle fears. First, you dreamt that you attacked me and the Clow Cards because you were possessed by the Elixir of Fire. Then you dreamt that you attacked your dad because you were afraid he'd be ashamed of you if he found out what you did. These will only get more intense and intimate as you go on. If you don't seal this card away, it'll reveal horrors that you didn't even know existed. And if the Nightmare Card ever decides to let you wake up, there won't be anything left of your mind but a cold, scarred shadow," Kero explains.

"So I'm _still_ dreaming?" Sakura asks hopelessly. "And if I keep dreaming, the Kaos Card will force me to attack Tomoyo-chan and Yukito-san too. How can I possibly wake up and _know_ that I'm really awake?" she asks.

Kero folds his arms. "_That's_ not a Kaos Card. That's just life. When you're awake, you never really know if you're dreaming or not. You can't know. It's impossible. All you can do is believe that the reality that you're in is real," Kero answers. "But as for defeating the Kaos Card, that's possible, yet difficult. You can only beat the Kaos Card by living up to your deepest fears and facing them head-on. Then, the Nightmare won't be able to turn your fears against you and you won't go insane. To seal it away, you have to trust that you yourself have the power to seal it away. In this world, your subconscious is the ultimate deciding factor, and your will is your ultimate strength."

Sakura tilts her head curiously. "So… you're saying that anything I think of in this dream world will become real?" she asks, becoming intrigued.

"Yep, that's pretty much how dreams work," Kero nods.

Sakura then folds her legs, crosses her arms and sits with deep, deep concentration until a knocking sound comes from the other side of her bedroom door.

"Sakura-chan, breakfast is ready. Come on down and eat, and then I'll walk you to school," the voice, clearly Yukito's, says from the other side of the door.

"It worked!" Sakura exclaims as she balls up her fists in front of her face to hide the blushes on her cheeks. She giggles childishly, but Kero interrupts her by walloping her over the head with his paw.

"Cut that out! You've got work to do!" Kero scolds. "And besides, the Nightmare Card is out to make you miserable by manipulating your dreams. At least don't give it any fodder," Kero warns.

"Oh, let a girl live a little!" Sakura insists as she happily prances towards her bedroom door to open it. But as she eagerly swings her door open, an unconscious Yue falls face-first onto the floor.

Sakura quickly sidesteps the falling guardian. "Hoee! It's Yue-san!" she shrieks.

"Yue!" Kero shouts as he flies towards his lunar counterpart. Kero attempts to place a paw on Yue, to see whether he is still alive, only for Yue to vanish into sparkling silver dust, much to Kero's and Sakura's shock.

"Did the Nightmare Card do this to Yue-san? Is he in this dream too? What about Yukito-san? Is he okay?" Sakura asks frantically.

"Calm down!" Kero yells as he points out Sakura's open door. "It's still just a dream. Nightmare was just trying to psyche you out because you're getting closer to it. Look out there for your proof," Kero instructs.

Sakura peers out the open doorway to see, not the usual corridor outside her room, but a dark, dank subway station. "What's that doing there? I didn't imagine that!" she protests. "That must mean the Nightmare Card is on the other side of this door…" she deduces, looking around.

"Hurry then! If you take too long, you'll wake up again before you confront the Nightmare Card's true form," Kero advises.

Sakura nods, and then holds out her palm, in which her magic key materializes in her hands. "If this is a dream, then I should have all my Clow Cards to work with. So if the Nightmare Card is over there, I'll be ready," she begins. "Key hiding the powers of the Darkness, reveal your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract: release!" she commands, as the small key in her hands grows into a full-sized wand. At this moment, Sakura plunges fearlessly through the mysterious portal at her doorway, with Kero right behind her.

Arriving in the dark, dank subway station, Sakura and Kero look around. The area is completely deserted, with debris like paper cups and old newspapers littering the ground and blowing through the windy station. Large concrete pillars are scattered about the wide area. The station, however looking like a normal subway station, is completely devoid of any identifying marks. Street signs and maps on the walls are completely blank. The suspended fluorescent lights, or the few that work anyway, flicker on and off. Even the subway tunnels themselves show no sign of oncoming trains.

"K-kero-chan… where did we go?" Sakura asks, shivering in both the cold wind and fear.

"Stay focused," Kero instructs. "Whenever you freaked out in your previous dreams, you woke up. But we're too close to the Nightmare now. The only way to truly wake up is to seal it off."

The wind from the subway tunnels begins whipping up violently, as if a train was coming. All the sound-cues that a train was arriving, the screeching of the tracks, the violent winds, they were all there. But the train itself was not. Sakura looks for the train frantically, her knees trembling.

"That's it, I'm outta' here!" Sakura insists, turning back towards where the door was, but only sees a tattered door frame sitting in the middle of nowhere.

"HOEE!" Sakura whimpers, throwing her hands over her head.

"Keep going!" Kero insists.

"But I forgot my Clow Cards in the room, and now I'm stuck here!" Sakura whimpers.

"Weakling…" a young, friendly, yet obnoxious voice echoes throughout the station.

"That voice…" Sakura whispers, snapping out of her fear.

"Oh great…" Kero moans, sinking in the air with an utter lack of enthusiasm.

Dressed up in full battle costume, Syaoran storms down the concrete stairwell. He swings his sword and launches lightning blasts as he retreats from… something up the stairwell. Heading straight for the security gates, Syaoran bounds over the barricades completely with a mid-air flip before meeting Sakura right in the center of the arena-like station.

"Li-kun?!" Sakura notices in shock.

"Kozo…" Kero mutters under his breath.

Syaoran turns towards the opening to the subway station and faces it with his sword extended. "Pie-day Sore-eyes!" he commands, blasting the doorway with a massive lightning bolt, collapsing the opening and sealing the last exit shut.

"Pie-day? Sore-eyes? That doesn't sound right…" Sakura inquires to Kero, hardly believing her ears.

"Since you haven't memorized how to pronounce the kozo's incantations properly, your mind is just imagining the closest pronunciation to the correct one," Kero answers, before noticing the new predicament. "Hey, wait a sec… That kozo entombed us! We're stuck in here!" he notices angrily.

"But that thing is in here too…" Syaoran adds grimly.

"Uh… thing? That _thing _wouldn't happen to be a giant sickle, would it?" Sakura asks while nervously sweat-dropping.

Syaoran lowers his sword and stands straight, but then remains perfectly still, turned away from Sakura. "I can't seal it off. Only you can. Sakura…" he mutters in a humble and low tone.

"Do you mean the Nightmare Card?" Sakura asks.

Syaoran's shadow, cast from one of the working fluorescent lights, stretches long across the floor before rising off the ground under its own power. It takes the shape of an oversized model of the bottle that contains the Elixir of Fire, but with the beak pointing down, and the entire thing is a black shadow and not its usual pulsating orange. It points at Sakura, Syaoran and Kero.

"So, you are the one selected by that fool, Reed," the apparition bellows out in a multi-voiced, deep cacophony.

Sakura darts behind Syaoran and peeks over his shoulder nervously, as she knew the being was addressing her.

Finally showing signs of life, Syaoran tightens his grip on his sword and raises his arms up protectively. "Leave her alone. I'm the one you want. You know it and I know it," he bravely tells the floating shadow being.

The figure emits a deep cackle. "You broke your contract, Xiao Lang. You have no power over me anymore. Then again, I should have expected that you would turn on us, just as that coward Reed had done." The beak of the being opens, allowing for a long wooden pole to protrude from its mouth. Attached to the latter end of the pole is a curved blade. It was the same exact scythe as before.

Syaoran braces himself, grabbing his sword double-handedly. "Do your worst…" Syaoran beckons, egging the thing on.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… you shall never live long enough to do…" the shadowy apparition continues. The scythe raises itself up over Syaoran's head before hurtling down.

"SWORD!" Sakura announces. Her staff transforms into the image of the Sword card as she intercepts the swinging of the scythe, blocking for Syaoran at the last second. The impact forces Sakura to grab onto the Sword with both hands, but eventually the pressure brings her down to one knee. "Get out of my head, Kaos Card!" Sakura orders.

"And you would be wrong in that assumption, Kinomoto Sakura-san," the shaded figure responds with a defiantly rumbling voice. "The scythe you guard against is the true form of the Nightmare, a Kaos Card, like you envisioned. I, on the other hand, am _not_ a Kaos Card. I am but a spectator wishing to see what the Chosen of Clow Reed is capable of, and whether you are worthy of my master's attentions. If you are truly the Chosen of Clow Reed, dispel this dream and seal the Kaos Card away," it offers.

The Nightmare lets up the pressure on Sakura, allowing her to stand up as the scythe returns to the side of the shadowy being. The shadow's beak opens once again, allowing two items to fly out and land at Sakura's feet: the Industry Card and the Elixir of Fire.

Sakura notices the two items given to her by the creature, staring deeply at them. She nods her head back and forth, resisting the pulsating, tempting glow of the Elixir of Fire. "No, no I won't give in. I won't play your games!" Sakura insists. "Kero-chan, who or what is this thing?" she asks before turning behind her to notice that Kero had vanished.

Syaoran had not completely vanished, but instead lay motionless on a distant set of railroad tracks, unconscious, battered, and not moving.

Sakura drops the Sword and runs over to the edge of the platform and kneels down. "LI-KUN!" Sakura desperately calls out to Syaoran from the platform, reaching out to him.

"Your test begins. Pick up the implements you have been given and defeat the Nightmare Card… if you are capable…" the shadow taunts.

Sakura grits her teeth as she approaches the shadowy being. "Get out of my head, demon!" she shouts at the shadow.

"If you are capable of defeating the Nightmare Card, you have nothing to fear from me," the being calls out.

"And you are?" Sakura demands to know.

The shadow spurts out a stream of shadowy vapor behind it, which slowly takes the form of a four-footed giant animal. The shadowy bird skull connects with the face of the being, causing the foggy mess to take shape. It reveals its true self as a giant beast with the wings of a bat, fur made of serrated dark blue barbs, a mace-like tail, a spiky exposed spine, and a mask made of bone. The size of the beast consumes most of the available space in the now cramped-looking subway station. "I am called Lycan. I am the Guardian Beast of the Kaos, and the selector of my master's successor. In the museum, you unlocked me when you first opened the Elixir of Fire's vial. At that moment, as none before you had shown the inner anger to unlock the vial, I have been called forth by my master to test whether you are worthy of his intentions."

Sakura nods her head back and forth, not even knowing where to begin. "No. No, you've got the wrong girl. You don't understand! The only reason the Elixir of Fire cracked open was because I dropped it! It's true!" she protests.

Lycan stares down at the insect-sized Sakura at his front paws. "Oh really? You claim the Elixir of Fire was an accident. The magic, on the other hand would beg to differ. You are much darker than you would attempt to be, Kinomoto Sakura. You hide behind your name, attempting to live up to being an innocent 'cherry blossom'. But you hide so much. You are infuriated when your brother calls you a monster… because you know that it is true. You fail to appreciate the hard work of a close friend… because you care more about how you appear. You ignorantly reject the open compassion of those around you… choosing rather to fantasize your feelings away."

"You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know _me_, Lycan!" Sakura insists, shaking her fist in opposition.

Lycan cackles deeply. "We shall let the Elixir of Fire decide. If indeed your heart holds goodness and purity, as you claim, you will never be able to harness the power you need to end this nightmare. But, if I am right and your heart is dark, then you will defeat the Nightmare Card with the power of your hatred. Nightmare Card, test this girl's heart…" Lycan drones.

The Elixir of Fire comes alive and rises off the ground. The beaked lid on the jar sinks, allowing the energy hidden to fly out. Sakura tries to run from this energy, but turns around and realizes that she cannot run from it, lest she fall on the railroad tracks below. Completely trapped, the Elixir entombs Sakura in a flaming whirlwind of magical energy. Sakura screams out loudly when the flaming cyclone is drawn into her heart. As the last of the fire permeates Sakura's smoking husk, Sakura raises her head to reveal an orange glow in her eyes.

"You don't know the first thing about me, Lycan. I'm more powerful than you or your master could ever be. And when I seal the Nightmare Card to do my bidding, I'll see to it that you and your master are next. Nobody makes a pawn out of me…" Sakura threatens ominously as she kneels and picks up the Sword Card off the ground. Reverting back into the staff, then the key, Sakura raises up her hand, all under Lycan's curious watch.

"Key hiding the powers of the Inferno, reveal your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract: release!" Sakura commands. The key levitates in her hand before flames consume it. It extends itself into a full wand, with the tip being replaced with a bird skull.

Taking its cue, the Nightmare snaps out of its motionless state at Lycan's side. It then lunges violently at Sakura. It attempts to slash at Sakura's shoulder, but the blade only manages to cut through the shoulder-part of Sakura's pajamas, stopping abruptly at her skin.

Sakura grabs the bladed scythe, lifting it off her shoulders before tossing it across the room. "What part of 'invulnerable' do you not get? Stupid card…" She raises her free hand high into the air, causing the Industry card to shoot into her hand.

The Nightmare lifts itself off the ground slowly, as if injured, before raising itself as high as the ceiling allows, preparing to lunge at Sakura again.

Sakura grins wickedly as she tosses the Industry Card out before her and the flaming magical circle appears below her feet. "Industry Card, I command you to bind up the Nightmare in live wires!" she commands, hitting the card with the end of her corrupted staff.

Complying with its master's orders, the Industry appears as a ball of cables before splitting up and penetrating effortlessly into the wall. As the Industry's true form completely vanishes into the concrete around her, the subway station begins to rumble furiously before the concrete walls rip apart, revealing tons of wires, crackling with electricity. The wires quickly ensnare the Nightmare in a spider-web of wires springing up from all directions. The fluorescent lights of the station simultaneously go dim and out as the Nightmare is ensnared in the live wires, causing it to glow bright blue with the electric current of the subway station flows through its being. Sakura doesn't even as much as squint away as the Nightmare is electrocuted, while Lycan continues to watch impassively.

The Nightmare falls at Sakura's feet, still smoking from being electrocuted, and not moving at all.

"And this makes two," Sakura says as she raises her staff above her head. "Now get out of my dreams and return to your original form: Kaos Card!" Sakura commands, swinging her wand down.

At Sakura's incantation, the Nightmare begins to evaporate into a shady vapor that flows into the form of a card at the end of Sakura's staff.

Having seen enough, Lycan begins to fade away, slowly vanishing into thin air. "My master will be pleased…" Lycan mutters as he disappears.

Nightmare's scythe form completely evaporates and is sucked into the glowing orange card form at the end of Sakura's staff. Completing the sealing process, the Nightmare Card ceases its glow and floats into Sakura's hand. Sakura looks at the newest acquisition to her collection of magical cards, and it showed the picture of the scythe that had haunted her dreams up until now.

"You did it!" Kero shouts, jumping right in Sakura's face and nearly causing her to lose her balance and fall on the railroad tracks behind her.

"And where exactly did you go, you coward?!" Sakura shouts at Kero as she regains her balance.

"Calm down, Sakura. Now that the Nightmare has been sealed, this dream world will disappear and you'll wake up good as new," Kero says as he begins to glow with a bright white corona.

The Elixir of Fire blasts out of Sakura's mouth and eyes, returning to the bottle on the floor, allowing a clearly weaker Sakura to gaze around weakly at her surroundings, but she quickly regains her composure as the entire station around her begins to glow with a soft white light.

"Hoee? What's happening? Kero-chan, are you okay?" Sakura asks, falling weakly to her knees and dropping her reverted key on the ground.

Kero floats down to eye-level with Sakura. "Don't worry, you're just waking up. Now that the Nightmare Card has been sealed, you're free of this dream," he explains.

Sakura looks back towards the railroad tracks, looking for where Syaoran was, but sees no one before turning back towards Kero. "Kero-chan, will you know about this stuff when you wake up, because I have _soooo_ many questions about what happened in this dream!" Sakura asks.

Kero dissolves into white sparkling dust, his voice now coming from all directions. "Zettai daijobu, Sakura. To tell you the truth, I never really _was _Keroberos. I was just a figment of your imagination, the part of your consciousness that trusts in your abilities. Everything you managed to do in this dream, you did on your own. You should be very proud of yourself," Kero's voice echoes.

"But what about Yue-san?" Sakura asks, standing up and shouting into the glowing white sky. "And is Li-kun going to be okay? Why did _he _appear? And what about Lycan? Was Lycan real, or just a dream too?" Sakura shouts towards the glowing white sky.

"All the answers are in your heart…" Kero's voice says softly.

_Outside Sakura's house_

Sunlight breaks over the horizon overlooking Sakura's house. Tomoyo sits on the front porch, grabbing Sakura's shoulders and shaking, and Kero floats over Sakura as he tugs at her cheeks.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Please wake up!" Tomoyo pleads worriedly, shaking a comatose Sakura by the shoulders.

Kero releases Sakura's swollen cheeks, beginning to give up. "It's no use. She's not waking up, and we've been at this for over an hour!"

"Do you think this is because of the Elixir of Fire?" Tomoyo asks.

"No, it's not," Kero responds quickly. "Sakura is just exhausted. Before using the Elixir of Fire, she used a ton of Clow Cards, one right after the other. She wasted a lot of magic that way, and now she's just tired. But I don't know how she could be _this _tired," he explains.

Beginning to show signs of life, Sakura's closed eyelids begin to twitch about as Sakura slowly opens her eyes. "…uhh …hoee…" she moans sleepily.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo shouts thankfully as she tightly hugs Sakura.

"Ow! Tomoyo-chan, let go, please, you're crushing me!" Sakura asks, short of breath.

Tomoyo quickly releases Sakura, allowing Sakura to rub her sore head.

Sakura looks at her still gloved hands as she twitches her fingers slowly. "I… remember…" she says weakly.

Suddenly, a soft orange glow appears in her hands, taking the form of a card. The Nightmare Card is dropped into her hands, already engraved with Sakura's name.

Kero looks over Sakura's shoulder at the card that materialized before her. "So, the Nightmare Card was responsible. That would explain why you didn't wake up."

"The Nightmare Card?" Tomoyo asks quizzically.

"The dream…" Sakura mutters. "I remember the dream. In the dream, I attacked Kero-chan and the Clow Cards. The Elixir of Fire made me do it. Then, I attacked dad. And then… it was so dark and cold. …and Li-kun… was there too…" she drones on, with Kero and Tomoyo listening attentively.

"The kozo attacked you?" Kero asks quickly, jumping to conclusions.

"No," Sakura answers softly. "There was something else there. It wasn't Li-kun, but it wasn't the Nightmare Card either. It was… huge," she continues. "It said it was a Guardian Beast, like Kero-chan. But he kept saying these horrible lies. It told me that I was evil. That my evil is what opened the Elixir of Fire."

"Another Guardian Beast?" Kero asks with fearful intrigue. "What was it called? What did it look like? Did it have any identifying marks?"

"It was called… Lycan…" Sakura answers, trembling. She pulls her knees up to her face and rocks back and forth. "I'm not evil. I'm _not!_" Sakura insists weakly.

Tomoyo places her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "Of course you're not," Tomoyo insists.

Kero continues to flutter about in the air as he turns away from Sakura and Tomoyo. 'Lycan. That sounds so familiar. Where have I heard that name before?' he thinks to himself as he stares at the last few visible stars of the morning sky.


	4. 3 The Legacy of Kaos

Chapter 3: The Legacy of Kaos

Sakura sleepily tiptoes through the house. Reaching her door, she opens it as quietly as possible. Inside her room, she shuts the door behind her. Walking over to her desk, she opens a random drawer and quickly stuffs the Elixir of Fire and the two Kaos Cards into it.

After a lengthy yawn and a stretch, she slowly slips back under her bed sheets, feigning sleep in case someone came in. Remembering the cat-ear headband, she quickly discards it, along with the gloves, and stuffs them under her bed. She looks up at the clock on her nightstand as it read 5:59 AM. Right after she pulls the covers over her head the clock strikes 6 AM and begins to ring. Unenthusiastically, she stands back to her feet and reaches for her nightstand to turn it off.

"Ugh… that was a nice second of rest," she mutters as she walks over to her window and opens it up. Looking out the window, Sakura waves at Tomoyo, who quickly waves back and dashes out of sight.

Kero flies in the open window. "Well, things didn't go quite as planned. We didn't destroy the Kaos Cards. But at least you're still somewhat well and you have some way of fighting back against the Kaos Cards now," he reflects.

Sakura stumbles back and forth before falling facedown on her bed. "These Kaos Cards are going to exhaust me to death, aren't they?" Sakura says, her voice partially muffled by the mattress in her face.

Kero floats to Sakura and pokes her on the shoulder. "Hey, look at it this way: in just one night you've captured one fourth of the Kaos Cards. That's the equivalent of you opening the Clow Book and catching 13 Clow Cards by dinnertime. You're making really good time!" he encourages.

Sakura weakly lifts her face off the bed. "Hoee! Only a _fourth_?" she whines before letting her face fall back down again. She rolls over weakly. "If I _do _seal all the Kaos Cards away, I won't be able to move. And there are six left?! These Kaos Cards really are evil. At least the Clow Cards had some concept of sleep…"

Kero floats over Sakura, sensing her despair at the prospect of the other six Kaos Cards.

"At least when I went after the Clow Cards, I had Li-kun's help," Sakura tells Kero.

Kero grits his teeth. 'Stupid kozo…' he thinks to himself. "Don't wish for _his _help. He doesn't even have any more Clow Cards. Yue defeated him. He blew it. You're the unchallenged Master of the Clow Cards. You don't need him!" Kero insists.

Sakura puts the back of her hand to her forehead as she stares at the ceiling. "Then… why? What was he doing there? In my dream…" she mutters. "Kero-chan, if you see Li-kun around, please don't tell him about the dream," she requests.

"I may have to," Kero answers. "As much as I absolutely detest him, he _has _to know what his family is up to. If he's in on it, I'll have a brand new reason to hate him."

Sakura struggles to sit up. "Kero-chan, be nice to Li-kun. If you don't want to, let me talk to him. Tomoyo-chan was going to help him out with his summer project at the zoo today. I'll just tag along and tell him then…" At finishing that last statement, Sakura flops back down on her bed. "Ugh… but I don't even know if I can stand up… I'm just so tired…" she whimpers.

Kero floats over to the door to Sakura's room. Reaching for the doorknob, he locks it. "I'll go," Kero offers. "You just rest here. Lock up, and don't open the door or window for anyone until I get back. We can't risk another Kaos Card coming after you when you're unprotected like this. I'll be back as soon as I hear from the kozo about what's going on," he says as he flies towards the window.

Looking back at Sakura, he notices that she's fast asleep. Sakura's chest is still moving, indicating that she's still breathing.

"…Yukito-san…" Sakura mutters in her sleep.

'Not much I can do for her now,' Kero thinks to himself before flying out the window and shutting it behind him.

_Tomoyo's house_

Tomoyo sits on her bed, now wearing her school uniform. She fiddles with her camera, checking the batteries and the focus. Over on a nearby desk, a beeping computer alerts Tomoyo's attentions. She hurriedly runs over to the computer to do some quick file downloads that she had been waiting for. Afterwards, she unplugs her camera from the computer, grabs the hat that goes with her school uniform, and grabs a large duffel bag from off the floor. Tomoyo heads for her door when she suddenly hears a knocking at her window.

From the other side of Tomoyo's window, Kero floats around, knocking on Tomoyo's window urgently. Seeing this, Tomoyo tosses her duffel bag aside and sets her camera down. She opens the door and allows Kero to fly in.

"Kero-chan? What are you doing here? Did something happen to Sakura just now?" Tomoyo asks.

Kero flies into Tomoyo's room. "Sort of. Sakura fell asleep, and she can barely move a muscle. She'll be okay after a long rest, but right now I'm going to be doing some sleuthing for her."

Tomoyo sighs with relief. "Thank goodness Sakura's okay. But just what kind of sleuthing did you have in mind?"

Kero cringes. "I need to pay the kozo a visit. Sakura told me that you were helping him with the video portions of his vacation project. In the meantime, I have things to ask him. Like what exactly his family is doing by irresponsibly putting the Kaos Cards on display."

Tomoyo picks up her camera and duffel bag again. "Well you'd better hurry up, because I'm heading over there now. Li-kun mentioned that he wanted to get his project done as soon as possible. You know how punctual Li-kun can be."

"How naturally stuck-up of him…" Kero mutters as he flies into Tomoyo's bag.

_Outside Syaoran's apartment_

Tomoyo presses on the doorbell button, sending a buzzing sound through the apartment. Kero peeks his head out of the bag in anticipation.

"This is the place," Kero notes. "You don't magically transform into the kozo only to forget stuff like this immediately. I wouldn't be _that _lucky…"

"I could've told you that this is where Li-kun lives. I do have his address written down, y'know," Tomoyo replies.

Momentarily, a tall, old man opens the door. His gray hair is combed down and surprisingly well-groomed for this early in the morning, as is his business suit.

"Ah, Daidouji-sama, you're early. Please, come in," Wei invites. "If there's anything I can do for you and Keroberos-sama, please, do let me know," he offers, widely opening the door to the apartment.

Kero quickly darts his head into Tomoyo's duffle bag, thinking he was found out.

Tomoyo grins at the embarrassed guardian beast's reaction. "Kero-chan, I think Wei-san would at least know something about Clow Reed and his guardians after being Li-kun's caretaker for so long," she tells Kero as she walks into the apartment.

Kero slowly emerges from Tomoyo's duffel bag, head-first. "Well… in that case, where is 'Syaoran-sama' anyway?" Kero asks mockingly, flying out of Tomoyo's bag and looking around the apartment and seeing no signs of anyone else except Wei.

Kero and Tomoyo enter the apartment and take a seat on a futon set up against the wall.

"Um, Wei-san, I know we're early, but is Li-kun even awake yet?" Tomoyo asks Wei politely.

"Of course I am," Syaoran answers, pacing into the room with a towel around his neck and his sword in hand. At the moment, Syaoran is wearing sweatpants and a short-sleeved white shirt, likely dressed for exercise purposes.

"Good morning, Li-kun," Tomoyo greets with a smile.

"Good morning, Daidouji-san," Syaoran answers stoically. He turns away and wipes his forehead with the towel around his neck. "I'll get ready," he says before walking back out of the room.

Wei smiles. "What a diligent young man Syaoran-sama is. Even after the Final Judgment, he still refuses to cease his training. It's as if he never failed."

"Sounds like denial to me…" Kero pipes up with an accusatory tone.

"Kero-chan," Tomoyo scolds gently.

"No, think about it!" Kero insists. "He's the descendent of Clow Reed, yet Sakura wasn't. He used Time against Yue, and the kozo got axed from the Final Judgment for it. But Sakura uses Wood against Yue to similar effect, and _she_ gets the do-over! If I were the kozo, I'd be eight fruity flavors of honked off too," Kero explains.

"Water under the bridge, Keroberos," Syaoran answers before emerging from the other room with his school uniform on and a Tomoeda Elementary backpack over his shoulder. "Some of us choose to live with the past instead of doting over it forever," he adds.

Kero flies up off the futon and gets right in Syaoran's face. "And I take it you're willing to live with what's about to happen too? Or do they keep the failures of the family out of the loop regarding their secret plots?" Kero accuses.

Syaoran drops his backpack to the floor in a single motion. "What's that supposed to mean?" he answers back.

"You're sounding pretty surprised all of a sudden. What's the matter? Don't have a ready alibi?" Kero accuses stronger, shoving his face into the bridge of Syaoran's nose.

Syaoran pushes back against Kero. "No, it just happens that I'm not used to being indicted by a flying Teddy Grahm! Go pester your almighty master about this!" he counters.

Wei cracks a smile and begins to laugh aloud. "It is as your mother envisioned, Syaoran-sama. She knew that you and Keroberos-sama would become the best of friends," he comments.

"WE'RE NOT FRIENDS!" Kero and Syaoran simultaneously insist to Wei, causing Tomoyo to giggle.

"This isn't a laughing matter, Tomoyo! You saw what happened to Sakura!" Kero shouts at Tomoyo.

"What?!" Syaoran steps back. He grabs Kero firmly. "Talk straight, Beanie Baby, what's going on here?!"

"Li-kun, Kero-chan, cut it out!" Tomoyo pleads.

Syaoran grunts before releasing Kero and folding his arms.

Kero swallows in a few deep gulps of air. "You want to know what's going on here, kozo? Well I'll give you a name and you tell me if it rings any bells: Kaos Gin," he says grimly.

Syaoran raises an eyebrow. "Mother Goose is out for blood now?" he asks coyly.

"Mother Goose?" Tomoyo and Kero simultaneously ask Syaoran.

Syaoran walks towards a tall bookshelf. He pulls up a stepladder and reaches for a relatively thick, tattered book on a high shelf. Bringing it down, he shows it to Tomoyo and Kero. The book is covered in Chinese characters. Syaoran cracks open the book, reading it left-to-right, and scans quickly for a particular page. Finally finding what he is looking for, he puts his finger down in the text before showing it to Kero and Tomoyo.

Tomoyo turns her head at the chicken-scratch writing. "Chinese?"

"This better be good…" Kero mutters as he floats towards the open book. "Hmm… lesse here… Now what's that one mean again? …Uhh… …umm…" Kero thinks aloud, pointing at the characters and attempting to read it left to right.

"Can you read it?" Tomoyo asks Kero.

"Yes, I can read it," Kero responds defensively. "I'm just a little rusty on my Chinese, that's all."

Syaoran rolls his eyes before turning the book back so he could read it. "Ugh, useless stuffed animal. It's a legend about Clow Reed and Kaos Gin. It's a pretty long story, so I'll basically give you the quick and dirty summary," he begins, and clears his throat. "When Clow Reed was alive, there was another rival sorcerer named Kaos Gin, and while Clow Reed was a sorcerer of good magic, Kaos Gin's magic was evil. So Clow Reed confronts Kaos Gin, defeating him and his magic. The end," he summarizes before shutting the book closed.

"Kaos is a family legend to you, Li-kun?" Tomoyo asks.

Kero's eyes narrow down as he stares down Syaoran. "Y'know, all myth is rooted in some form of truth. That little storybook you have seems to omit a rather large amount of details…" he suggests ominously.

"I _know_," Syaoran adds matter-of-factly. "The history of Clow Reed's family traces back to colonial England, where he had a brother who died a martyr. He tried to make a magic that would conquer death, but died before he could finish his project."

"So, if Clow Gin was a martyr… what was in the museum?" Tomoyo pipes up?

"The ones that martyred him," Kero answers.

"The Englishmen?" Syaoran asks, puzzled.

"The Kaos Cards," Kero corrects.

Syaoran nods his head back and forth. "Why don't you get your facts straight before you go pointing your stubby little fingers? Kaos Cards never existed. _Ne-ver! _No historical artifacts have ever been found that would indicate that there were ever any such things as Kaos Cards. Those cards are just fairy tales," Syaoran protests, folding his arms.

"Correction: no artifacts have been found that you've seen!" Kero adds.

"You sound so sure, Li-kun," Tomoyo notices.

"Too sure…" Kero goes off again.

"Kero-chan!" Tomoyo scolds.

"If there were ever a Kaos Gin in real life, I'd definitely know about it," Syaoran argues. He turns away and pauses for a few moments. "My mother wouldn't keep secrets like that from me," he finally adds, sparking Kero's and Tomoyo's attentions.

A smirk crosses Kero's face. "Okay then, kozo, now we're getting somewhere. Let's play a little Devil's Advocate then," Kero invites, hovering over Syaoran's shoulder. "Let's say your family _was _keeping Kaos Gin from you. What, from the stories in the fairy tale, could you tell us about the Kaos Cards that could help us defeat them?"

Syaoran sighs deeply. "I don't know what you could be getting out of this. It's only a story, like I told you already. The basis is that even sorcerers have superheroes. Clow Reed happened to be one of the founding historical figures of magic, making him the candidate for many tall tales, like how Americans tell tall tales about figures like Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan. According to the legend of Kaos Gin, each time Clow Reed fought a Kaos Card, it was like a parable," Syaoran answers, again flipping open the book with the fairy tales in it. "Each Kaos Card was a standalone story within the larger scheme of the story of Kaos Gin. There are all sorts of different battles that Clow Reed had with these cards, according to the legends. Each card was a symbol of a different type of human depravity, which Clow Reed, the 'Purest of Souls' fought against."

"For example?" Kero grills, probing ever deeper.

Syaoran flips through the pages of the storybook before laying his finger down on a choice passage. "Oh, here's one about Clow Reed's never-ending dream. It says here that Clow fell asleep one night, but a gargoyle invaded his dreams. He nearly went insane, attacking all those that were close to him in his dream. But Clow confronted the Guardian Gargoyle, who tested his purity. After Clow had bested the creature with the power of his inner will, he woke up victorious over the Kaos Card called the Nightmare Card," Syaoran reads. "You happy now?" he asks Kero aggressively.

"Hold on…" Kero interjects. "Does that legend happen to mention what the Guardian Gargoyle's name is?" he asks.

Syaoran skims back through the passage he read over, nodding his head. "Yeah, it was called the Guardian Gargoyle, Lycan," he reads. "But what's it to you?" he asks, growing more frustrated.

"I knew I heard that name somewhere before!" Kero insists.

Syaoran completely snaps. He tosses the book onto a nearby coffee table and points at Kero. "Quit evading the question! What do you care about Li family legends, you glorified carnival prize?!"

Kero responds by quickly biting Syaoran's extended finger which was so temptingly pointed out. This causes Syaoran to wave his hand around, trying to shake off Kero's deceptively powerful jaws. Tomoyo steps away from the swinging Syaoran until Syaoran manages to pry Kero off his finger.

"Tell it to Sakura, if she survives!" Kero spurts out.

"Kinomoto-san?" Syaoran asks, temporarily rattled out of his accusatory tone against Kero. "What does she have to do with this fairy tale?" he asks calmly.

Getting an idea, Tomoyo searches through her duffel bag for her camcorder, which she pulls out. "Here, Li-kun. I still have the footage from last night. Sakura-chan, Kero-chan and I all snuck into the Tomoeda museum after we saw the Kaos Cards, to try to destroy them before they could do any damage."

Syaoran glares at Kero again. "So… let me get this straight: you knew about the Kaos Cards, you knew how dangerous they were, you _let_ Sakura go after them, yet you actually have the audacity to call yourself a guardian beast?!" he asks angrily.

Tomoyo desperately tries to separate the two heated combatants by getting between them. "Boys, boys, cut this out! Sakura-chan's life is in danger. This isn't the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. Li-kun, forgive Kero-chan for being a little suspicious. Kero-chan, just let Li-kun see the footage. It's the easiest way to prove the Kaos Cards are real," Tomoyo tells the two. After Syaoran and Kero turn away from each other, Tomoyo hands Syaoran her camcorder, which Syaoran reluctantly takes hold of.

Syaoran stares at the paused camera screen. The screen shows Sakura wearing the leopard-themed battle costume from the previous night, with Sakura looking into the camera with a humiliated expression on her face. Syaoran can only hold the camera and stare at the screen, or more accurately, at Sakura.

Tomoyo points to a large 'Play' button on the side of the camera. "Li-kun, you play the video with this button here," Tomoyo tells Syaoran.

Syaoran snaps out of his daze and moves Tomoyo's hand away. "I can see the play button just fine, thank you. I'm a swordsman, not a caveman. I know just as much about technology as the next guy!" he insists, pressing the Play button.

"Well, technically I'm not a thief…" the Sakura from the video claims.

Syaoran can't help but blush a little. He completely zones out while watching the video. The Sakura from the video was just as Syaoran remembered her, always smiling optimistically no matter what. In fact, Syaoran hadn't seen or even heard from Sakura since the Final Judgment, figuring that he'd have no further part in Sakura's adventures, and life, now that he had been stripped of his Clow Cards. Syaoran continues to stare on at the video in a daze until Kero finally intervenes.

"Here, let me fast forward through these stupid parts for you," Kero offers, getting right in the way of the screen and pressing down the Fast Forward button. This causes Syaoran to break his blushing trance, replacing it with a resentful glare aimed straight at Kero. Both Tomoyo and Wei giggle softly in the background at seeing this little scene unfold.

Syaoran shoves Kero out of the way of the small screen and off the fast forward button. He pauses the playback before glaring at Kero again. "I was watching that, stupid beast. I'm looking for any clues because I happen to know what to look for, so I have to see the whole thing!"

"Oh, you're looking for something alright…" Kero begins in a sarcastically understanding tone. "Oooo… Sakura and kozo, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-Gaaaak!" Kero taunts before he feels Syaoran's hand wrap around his scrawny neck.

"Shut up, I'm serious!" Syaoran insists, despite blushing bright red in the cheeks. "If you want me to do my part to help Sakura defeat the Kaos Cards, then you'd better show me some respect!" he demands.

"That's twice!" Tomoyo notes of Syaoran's statement, pointing in Syaoran's direction. "Li-kun, you said Sakura-chan's name without keigo. I thought it was just a slip of the tongue until you did it again. When you speak Japanese, you don't do that unless…"

(A/N: Assume everything in English is actually spoken in Japanese, only you can understand it.)

Syaoran stares back at Tomoyo and drops Kero right out of his hand, letting him fall unconsciously to the floor. Syaoran shakes his head back and forth in denial, fighting off a blush. "Look, I'm just a bit rattled right now and I forgot about it. It happens every now and then when you don't speak Japanese as your native language, okay?! So do yourself a favor and don't read into it!" he insists defensively. He then storms over to the futon in a huff before plopping down and playing the video clip again.

"Daidouji-sama, allow me to bring Keroberos-sama some ice," Wei offers as he kneels down to eye level with Tomoyo. "Syaoran-sama can be a tad… tenacious when he feels that his weaknesses are being ridiculed," he whispers into Tomoyo's ear before walking into another room, presumably the kitchen.

Tomoyo scoops Kero up off the floor and looks over at Syaoran.

Syaoran holds Tomoyo's camcorder delicately in his hands. He watches attentively, his eyes not budging from the tiny screen built into the camcorder. He begins to slouch forward, leaning in closer towards the screen.

"You've always kept an eye out for Sakura-chan, haven't you?" Tomoyo calls over to Syaoran.

Noticing that Tomoyo had been watching him, Syaoran quickly pauses the clip and closes the camcorder. "What?" he asks with a deep growl.

"Caring for someone isn't a weakness. It's one of the greatest strengths a person can have," Tomoyo states.

Syaoran blushes at Tomoyo's proverb. He stares at the coffee table, where he threw the storybook with Kaos Gin's legend in it. However, Syaoran remains speechless as he reaches for the book again and flips it back open. After reading it again for a moment, he sets down both the book and the camcorder on the coffee table.

"Daidouji-san…" Syaoran begins as he stands to his feet. "I saw enough of the footage. I don't know what it was that you stumbled onto exactly, but I'll help in any way I can. But don't go thinking that this means anything between Kinomoto-san and I, except for duty. If she's not powerful enough to fight the Kaos Cards by herself, it's my obligation as a relative of Clow Reed's to do what I can to help. Don't fool yourself though. If it didn't have to do with Clow Reed, I wouldn't be even considering this."

"Of course," Tomoyo replies with a grin.

_Sakura's House_

A humanoid figure with large bat-like wings floats from out of the sky and perches on top of Sakura's house. The being's head and torso are clearly that of an adult human, albeit supernaturally augmented. His short reddish-orange hair sticks straight up, as do the creature's pointed ears. Extending out the closed lips of the creature are two curved fangs. The human skin of the creature is without a single scar, blemish, mark, or even damages of age. At the creature's shoulders and waist, his skin transitions from its perfect human flesh texture to that of red, reptilian scales. The reptilian portion of the creature's body is heavily muscular. Each hand and foot is dragon-like, bearing three long, pointing fingers and two prehensile fingers that act like thumbs. Each finger grows into a curved, bony spike of a fingernail. The creature also bears a muscular and enormous tail like that of an alligator or a small dinosaur. The tail, as well as the entire human vertebrate, bears hook-like spikes, similar to the creature's fingernails, protruding from the skin.

"Excellent work, Lycan, the cherry blossom has been ensnared," the creature whispers in a mundane voice which wildly contrasts the wicked appearance of the being. "Now for me to attend to the little wolf…"

The creature lifts up a small animal skeleton. Its spinal cord is short, no more than a palm's length, but the vertebrae are like finger rings. The skeleton has no other limbs, and would appear to be a snake, if it wasn't for the oddly-shaped beakless bird skull at the end of the skeleton. In the creature's other hand, he holds up three Kaos Cards in his hands, faced towards himself.

"Soon, Master, very soon your dream will be achieved," he says to the Kaos Cards in his hands before soaring straight up into the air in a burst of speed.

_Sakura's Room_

Still laying face-up and asleep on her bed, Sakura shows her first signs of life by twitching her eyelashes. She then opens her eyes and stares at the ceiling above her.

"A… Kaos Card's… presence…" Sakura mutters before closing her eyes again. "Too tired… Can't… move… Must… rest…"

_outside Syaoran's apartment_

The door to Syaoran's apartment opens up, and Syaoran begins pacing out across the balcony, heading stoically for the stairwell. He had already packed up his backpack and grabbed his hat as well, wearing his hat on his head and his backpack over one shoulder.

Momentarily, Tomoyo darts out and quickly runs to catch up with Syaoran, carrying with her the duffel bag she brought and a still unconscious Kero with her. "Li-kun, wait up!" she shouts.

Syaoran nears the stairs and grabs onto one of the hand railings before turning back. "C'mon Daidouji-san, my project won't do itself," he replies.

Catching up to Syaoran, Tomoyo pauses to catch her breath. "Your project? But what about the Kaos Cards? I thought you were going to help Sakura-chan defeat them!" she insists.

Syaoran turns away and begins walking down the stairwell. "And I intend to, just not now. According to the legends of the Kaos Cards, they're all nocturnal, so they won't activate during the daytime. So we should be safe until the sun goes down," he answers as he proceeds downstairs.

Tomoyo stares ahead skeptically until she realizes that Syaoran had started going down the stairs without her. "Li-kun, wait up! I'm the one with the camcorder!" she shouts.

Syaoran reaches the ground floor of the apartment complex first, with Tomoyo eventually following him.

"Hurry up, Daidouji-san!" Syaoran calls up the stairs to Tomoyo.

Tomoyo hurriedly jogs down the stairs to meet Syaoran at the ground level, when she takes a moment to pant heavily and catch her breath.

Tomoyo leads Syaoran over to a white van parked in the nearby parking lot. She opens the large back doors of the van and puts her duffel bag in the back. Syaoran follows Tomoyo, jumping quickly into the back of the van and taking a seat on the floor of the van. Tomoyo then climbs into the back before shutting the doors.

"The zoo, I presume, Daidouji-sama?" a straight-haired, suit-wearing female bodyguard asks from the driver's seat of the van.

"If you would, please," Tomoyo answers the bodyguard in a kind tone.

Momentarily, the engine begins to rev up as the van begins to rumble slightly. The vehicle begins moving.

After a few moments, Syaoran takes off his backpack and opens it up, pulling out the storybook that he was reading from in the apartment. He opens it up and begins reading silently to himself.

Tomoyo sets Kero down on the floor of the van as she notices Syaoran returning to the storybook from before. "Looking up more about the Kaos Cards?" Tomoyo asks innocently.

Syaoran flips the page before looking up from the book, at Tomoyo. But before speaking up, his eyes gravitate towards the bodyguard in the driver's seat. "Uh, Daidouji-san, maybe we shouldn't talk about that stuff while there are other people around…" he begins nervously.

"I'm not paid to see and hear weird things," the bodyguard replies back monotonously. "Bizarre… unexplainable things…" she drones on, taking a sip from a coffee mug nested in a cup holder at arm's reach.

"Go ahead, Li-kun," Tomoyo invites. "Does the story say anything else about the Kaos Cards?" she asks.

Syaoran returns his gaze to the pages of the book once again. "Well, according to the story, there are only eight Kaos Cards. The sorcerer that created them, Kaos Gin, died making these cards, so he couldn't make a large set. When the sorcerer's life ended, the cards died with him, as well as his two Guardian Beasts-"

"Wait a second, two Guardian Beasts?!" Tomoyo interrupts, intrigued by what Syaoran had just read.

Syaoran stares up at Tomoyo, closing the book before setting it down. "All sets of magical cards have two Guardian Beasts. Take the Clow Cards for instance. The Clow Cards are split into a dichotomy over two contrasting forces, Light and Darkness. Keroberos, the Selector, rules over all cards under the control of The Light, and Yue, the Judge, rules over the cards under the control of The Dark. That was how Yue was able to turn Sakura's and my cards against us during the Final Judgment. Until the true master was decided, all Clow Cards fell under the control of one of the two Guardian Beasts, like temporary Cardcaptors. Therefore, the Clow Cards would always obey their Guardian Beast first and their holder second, until the Master was decided. That was how Sakura won the Final Judgment," he explains.

Tomoyo grins warmly. "Y'know, you must really like Sakura-chan to call her by name all the time like that," she notices innocently.

Syaoran rolls his eyes in frustration. "Quit changing the subject! Look, I really don't care anymore. I think we've substantially beaten it into the dirt that I've got a crush on her. Fine, go nuts, go write a book about it, or maybe a video documentary would be more up your alley, or whatever. Just SHUT UP ABOUT IT!" he insists.

Tomoyo sits motionlessly, blasted away by Syaoran's pent-up fury and not knowing what to say next. "Uh… you can forget I asked. You were saying again?" she asks with a mix of meekness and fear.

"There are more important things at stake here than insignificant little feelings," Syaoran patronizes as he holds up the storybook. "These Kaos Cards aren't measly little playing cards like the Clow Cards were. The Kaos Cards are out to kill and torture all of humanity. That's all they know how to do now that their master is dead. If you want them stopped, quit worrying about how I feel already. Let me worry about junk like that," Syaoran says with an ominous confidence.

Tomoyo shrinks away, leaning against the opposite wall of the van. "You're starting to talk like she did that time," she mutters, catching Syaoran's attention and snapping him out of his fit of rage. "I'm not a powerful sorcerer like you or Sakura-chan, but from what I've seen, the magic of Kaos Gin makes people angry, lonely, and scared. I know what we're up against. I've looked Sakura-chan in the eye, and when I see that tortured, demented glare… she's just not herself."

Syaoran stares down at the floor of the van, and at his trembling hands. He clenches his fists tightly, in a vain attempt to stop the trembling.

"Li-kun, I know why you don't want Sakura-chan to know how you feel," Tomoyo continues. "You're afraid that the Kaos Cards will take her away from you. You're afraid of Sakura-chan being trapped in her anger, alone and scared forever, because of the Kaos Cards."

Syaoran laces his fingers and puts his hands behind his head. "I don't know," he whispers. "I just don't know what I feel anymore. All I know for sure is what I know for fact. And whether you're right, or whether you're wrong, it's clear that you don't fully understand what Kaos Gin is about."

"Li-kun, you know something," Tomoyo notices. "Something important. Something that can make the difference. You're holding out. You're holding out on her. But you know what that means."

Syaoran stares off into space, contemplatively studying the van wall opposite him. "It's insulting how you imply that. You're probably thinking that I don't care enough to say why," he begins.

"But you do care, so that's why you hide," Tomoyo interrupts before cracking a smile. "You're still watching out for Sakura-chan in your own backstage, subtle little way." She picks up the storybook that Syaoran had been reading from before and hands it to him. "I bet there's something about the Kaos Cards that knowing it makes them far more powerful. You don't want Sakura-chan to lose her cheerfulness over this."

Syaoran reluctantly takes back the storybook. He sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose between his fingers and staring down in stress. "It's my mother…" he blabs out in a subtle whisper, pathetically attempting to mask his fear. "She lied to me about Kaos Gin. She wanted to protect me from reality. So all she ever told me about Kaos Gin was that he was a character in an allegorical fairy tale. If she thought I could've handled it, she would've told me the truth and I could've prepared for it. The only reason she wouldn't tell me would be if nothing I could never match their power." He lifts his head morbidly, looking Tomoyo coldly in the eye.

Tomoyo returns the stare with deep confusion and a longing for comprehension. "So… you're trying to protect Sakura-chan by not allowing her to know what is going to happen, just like your mother tried to protect you," she deduces.

Syaoran looks away. "No, not quite," he responds, the morbidity washing over him completely. "I know what happens in the end of Kaos Gin's story. Kaos vowed to return one day and claim a Cardcaptor to walk in his footsteps to complete his project: to finish the cards that he had designed in his lifetime."

"Evil cards, I'd wager?" Tomoyo jumps to conclusions.

"Actually not," Syaoran answers persuasively. "Kaos Gin's original cards were themed at the improvement of human life and existence. Rivaling Clow Reed, Kaos Gin viewed Clow's cards as gratuitous and selfish uses of magic, so Kaos set out to outdo Clow with a set of cards to better all of humanity. Kaos Gin's final project was a card called The Life. The other seven cards that predated Life's contemplation were all cards that were themed around improving the ultimate quality of life, but only in tangible ways. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't conquer the ultimate suffering, death. So he decided to create a card governing over life itself. Unfortunately, even despite Clow Reed's pleas for him to understand, Kaos was too stubborn in his pursuit. Conquering death is impossible, even with magic. What makes life so precious that it can't be artificially cheapened. Despite this, Kaos's goal was the success of his project. The Life was never completed, the Kaos Cards fell into a state of magical un-death, and Kaos Gin perished, but he vowed that, someday, his chosen Cardcaptor would complete his card, and legacy."

Tomoyo looks on with confusion. "That was really what Kaos Gin was like?" she asks, perplexed. "That Kaos Gin doesn't sound like the same nutcase that created the Elixir of Fire that made Sakura-chan evil," she disputes in disbelief. "Kaos Gin sounded like he was trying so hard for the sake of those around him, even trying to overcome the impossible… A lot like Sakura-chan does, now that I think about it." Suddenly, realization overcomes Tomoyo in a quick flash. "Wait, do you think that's why Kaos Gin had Sakura-chan elected as his Cardcaptor?" she asks frantically.

"Don't you dare compare Sakura to that fiend!" Syaoran insists. "If Kaos Gin is anything at all like how his story depicts him, he isn't worth the benefit of the doubt. Kaos Gin was warned repeatedly by everyone around him that conquering death was impossible, even with magic, and that terrible things happened to sorcerers that attempted to do so. Kaos Gin wasn't empathetic, he was downright obstinate. Sakura is more of a human being than he ever was before or will be ever again!" Syaoran takes a moment to pause after his ardent commentary. His breathing heavy, he clutches his chest to calm his thunderously heavy heartbeats.

Tomoyo smiles at a fuming Syaoran. "You don't have to convince me that Sakura-chan is a kind person," she responds.

Syaoran stares off into a contemplative daze once more. "But still, you make an uncomfortably good point. Kaos sees in Sakura all the good that he himself believes that he has, in all his arrogance. He probably thinks that Sakura can complete the Life Card for him. But it won't ever be enough, even if she were the greatest sorceress to ever live. If she continues acting as the Cardcaptor of the Kaos, she'll attempt to finish the job that Kaos Gin started, either willingly or not. And then…"

Tomoyo's eyes widen in fear as she fights a losing battle to hold in her tears. "It can't be… Sakura-chan will…" Tomoyo mutters. "But wait!" Tomoyo insists. "There were actually eight Kaos Cards. Sakura-chan, Kero-chan and I saw all eight of them at once in the museum. So if the Life Card was never successfully completed… what's the eighth Kaos Card?" Tomoyo asks bleakly.

"That, I don't know," Syaoran answers plainly. "Daidouji-san, please don't tell Sakura any of what I told you. I've seen with my own eyes the kind person that she can be. If she knew about any of this, she'd try and finish Kaos Gin's Life Card."

Tomoyo nods compliantly. "I promise," she tells Syaoran.

Suddenly, the movement of the van starts to slow down as the tires screech loudly against the pavement. Tomoyo and Syaoran are both thrown to one side of the van by the sudden breaking and swerving of the van.

"Stupid cat. I swear the thing wanted to get run over…" the driving bodyguard mutters with frustration as she slowly pulls over and parks.

"What was that?!" Syaoran exclaims as he slowly pries his cheeks off the cold metal wall of the van.

Tomoyo shakes her head back and forth. "You said something about a cat running out into the road. Did you hit the poor thing?"

"Stay in here, I'll check it out," the bodyguard instructs as she opens the driver's side door, gets out of the van and shuts the door behind her.

As Kero lays face-up unconscious on the van floor, he begins to show signs of life as his eyes open slowly. "…uhhhh… Man, what could possibly knock me out like that?" he asks weakly, rubbing his eyes.

Syaoran glares at Kero. "Nice of you to wake up now," he patronizes as he reaches for the handles to the back doors of the van.

Tomoyo holds up her hand. "Wait, Li-kun, she said we should wait in the van," she suggests.

Syaoran jumps out of the open back of the van and surveys the surroundings. "I bet she says a lot of things," he retorts snidely.

Kero stretches widely as he floats slowly into the air. "What's all the commotion for? What happened?" he asks.

"Li-kun strangled you and you fell unconscious. You really shouldn't taunt him about Sakura-chan," Tomoyo answers. "But right now, we were heading to the zoo in the van, but I think we hit something."

"No kidding…" Syaoran remarks sarcastically, grabbing his backpack from inside the van and shoving the storybook into his backpack before throwing it over his shoulder.

Tomoyo climbs out of the back of the van right behind Syaoran, with Kero following her from the air. "Do you mean 'no kidding' about hitting something, or Kero taunting you?" Tomoyo asks, but Syaoran vanishes from her sight before giving a response.

Syaoran, Kero and Tomoyo find themselves behind the open van, parallel parked in a suburban housing district. Tomoyo's bodyguard stands in the middle of the street, staring down perplexed. Syaoran and Tomoyo go to her side, and Kero poses as a stuffed animal perched on Tomoyo's shoulder.

With her hands on her hips, Tomoyo's bodyguard stares at a small box turtle shell right in the middle of the street. "A turtle? That's so weird. Could've sworn it was a cat. I've never seen a turtle move that fast before…"

Tomoyo and Syaoran come alongside the bodyguard and also stare down at the turtle.

Syaoran stoops down to carefully pick up the immobile shell of the turtle before scrutinizing it.

"Li-kun, what do you think a turtle is doing out in the middle of a neighborhood?" Tomoyo asks.

Syaoran turns the shell around, attempting to examine the limbs of the creature from inside the shadows of the shell. "It's probably somebody's pet and it just got lost. What I want to know though is what a turtle was doing in the middle of the street, much less crossing it at the speed of a cat…" he ponders.

The bodyguard pushes her sunglasses up off the bridge of her nose as she proceeds back towards the van. "It probably just got kicked by some kid. Mystery solved, so set it over on the sidewalk and let's get moving," the bodyguard replies complacently.

Tomoyo heads back for the van, but Syaoran continues staring at the turtle shell, particularly in the retracted part of the shell where the head presumably comes out.

"Come on, Li-kun, didn't you want to go to the zoo?" Tomoyo asks, turning back after noticing that Syaoran was not following her back to the van.

"This isn't just an ordinary turtle…" Syaoran answers back. "I told you that I chose biology as the subject matter for my summer vacation project, so I've taken the liberty of reading about different kinds of animals. Turtles like this one are indigenous to humid swamps and other kinds of wetlands, notably those in Central and South America. However, as Japan is essentially a group of mountainous islands a relatively large distance from the Equator, this country isn't exactly a suitable natural habitat for aquatic reptiles like turtles," he adds skeptically, still staring into the supposed head-hole of the shell, when he is greeted with the return stare of a pair of bright yellow eyes from inside the dark hole in the shell.

Slowly emerging from the shell, the head of an orangey cat pokes out, the shock causing Syaoran to reflexively hurl the shell several meters down the street. From on the ground, the head of the cat tries to stare up, but is hindered partially by the shell. Regardless, it glares fiercely at Syaoran while hissing violently.

Tomoyo stoops down to the shell as she sets her duffel bag on the ground next to her. "A cat got stuck in a turtle shell, I guess?" she asks Syaoran after staring at the unusual hybrid animal before her."

"Typical humans," a mature, adult male voice booms out from above Syaoran and Tomoyo's heads and firmly capturing their attention.

Tomoyo's bodyguard stares up into the clear sky as well, huddling close to the cars on the side of the road while reaching slowly into an inner pocket inside her suit. "Who's there?" she calls out sternly, but with a hint of futility and fear.

Out of the sky descends a tiny black dot that races closer and closer to the ground. The air around the figure burns bright orange as it descends and appears to burn up, but doesn't. The figure quickly takes shape as it comes into sight. Large, orange-membrane bat wings protrude out the back of a bare humanoid torso, with said torso melded to the limbs of a creature more akin to a dinosaur than anything truly anthromorphic. With a thunderous explosion, the creature crashes like a meteorite right onto the concrete pavement, with fragments of flaming rock and metal shrapnel from the street and a number of unfortunate automobiles hurls out, causing Syaoran, Tomoyo, and her bodyguard to lay low to the ground to avoid being clipped by these high-speed projectiles. After the thick smoke clears, the being that had fallen from the sky drapes its deceptively-thick wing membranes over its form before momentarily standing up on its massively muscular reptilian legs. Its clawed feet, each with three 'fingers' and two 'thumbs', dig aggressively into the now-crumbled pavement, and with the lowering of a powerful alligator-like tail, the creature hunches forward and regains its balance in an awkwardly lumbering position.

"So little changes over two long centuries," the creature speaks, implying a male gender with his tone. "You humans attempt to explain that which you cannot fathom with your 'intellect', denying in your bigotry that there are beings that boast more power than you," he adds, raising a muscular, three-fingered, dual-thumbed claw in the air. A red ball of energy forms in the creature's hands, out of which an enormous flaming spear launches out, headed straight for the van near where Tomoyo's bodyguard had hunkered down.

Tomoyo's bodyguard dodges this hurtling burning arrow narrowly, somersaulting behind another car, as the burning bolt causes the van to explode. She takes cover behind another car and pulls out a handgun from her inner suit pocket and taking aim at the creature. "FREEZE, FREAK!" she orders.

The creature looks to his feet to see the rattled turtle shell with the cat head sticking out. He gently stoops down and with a mysterious gracefulness he carefully picks up the shell and cradles it in one arm like a child. "Freak? Is that what you call our blighted kind, human?" he answers the bodyguard with an aggressive glare. "No one does harm to those under my protection… and gets away with it!" he growls, all the while gently stroking the cat-headed turtle with his free 'hand', eliciting a soft purr from the mutated turtle-cat.

Tomoyo is unable to tear her stare away from the unusual duo of the cat-headed turtle and the reptilian-humanoid being before them. She nervously tugs on Syaoran's sleeve without as much as even moving her head. "L-Li-kun… what is that thing?"

From atop Tomoyo's shoulder, Kero stares at the two with a peculiar glare in their direction, though still hanging his body limply over Tomoyo's shoulder, maintaining his stuffed animal charade. "Could that guy… really be…?" he mutters.

Syaoran looks over towards Tomoyo's bodyguard, stationed cautiously opposite a car and leaning over the hood with her handgun aimed right at the creature. "Whatever it is, something tells me that your bodyguard's gun is going to be about as effective as a spitball," he begins as he takes off his backpack and quickly rifles through the contents with both hands.

"Should I get back?" Tomoyo asks quietly.

Syaoran slowly pulls a Chinese-style double-bladed sword with a tassel-adorned scabbard out of his backpack, having just summoned it. "Don't ask me any questions. Just stay out of my way. I'll handle this myself," he responds with a cocky certainty.

"Cocky kozo…" Kero mutters under his breath.

Meanwhile, Tomoyo's bodyguard and the creature trade intensely deep stares, the creature levitating up another burning javelin and the bodyguard having drawn her pistol. The bodyguard quickly opens fire with a fast succession of six headshots, but the bullets bounce harmlessly off the impregnable skin of the mysterious being's forehead.

The creature frowns back. "You modern humans would make my Master sick. After all he did for you ingrates you honor his memory by building instruments of death and murder. I suppose some humans are simply undeserving of life when you hand out death so eagerly," he begins as he rears his arm back to throw the flaming spear.

"Summon: Dragon of Water!" Syaoran recites. He strikes the edge of his sword against an ofuda and summoning a mighty torrent of crystal-clear water in the form of a giant serpent, rushing straight at the unknown entity.

Upon contact with Syaoran's Water Dragon spell, the being cries out in pain as its spear evaporates into an effervescence of steam and smoke. The creature stoops closer to the ground. He shivers violently and drops the turtle-shelled cat onto the ground. Momentarily, the water spell that had dampened his body begins to boil away and vaporize off the very surface of the creature's skin. "A… an element sorcerer? In this day and age?!" he exclaims in shock before looking towards a confidently posed Syaoran with his sword extended in his direction.

"So you ARE Damien, the Guardian of the Kaos Cards!" Syaoran shouts, noticing the creature's physical reaction to the touch of water. "I guess the rumors I heard of the non-fictional nature of both you and your master weren't exaggerated after all."

"Damien?" Tomoyo asks curiously, quickly pulling out her video camera from her duffel bag and frantically beginning to film the unfolding events.

Kero grits his teeth, having witnessed Damien, the dragon-like being, and the heat-based nature of his powers.

Damien shakes his mighty wings off, whipping up a piercingly hot wind to vaporize the last moisture from Syaoran's spell. "You… know of my name, boy? And of my Master as well? I see that the stories of Reed's crimes lasted through the centuries, did they not?" he asks ephemerally.

Kero begins to take flight and flutter off of Tomoyo's shoulders, wearing an expression of received offense. "Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'Reed's crimes' anyway? Kaos Gin was insane, and Clow defeated him, end of story!" he insists defensively.

Damien's beast-like eyes shoot wide open. "Wrong, you uneducated creature! How dare you speak so rashly of my Master. Who do you think you are anyway?!" he argues, balling up a clawed fist.

"I just so happen to be Keroberos, Guardian Beast of the Clow Cards, as well as of Clow Reed himself!" Kero shouts back, folding his stubby little arms in a pathetic attempt to appear macho.

"You're Keroberos?!" Damien asks in denial.

Kero stares at his plushie-looking body. "Yeah, I get that a lot," he answers back, but he quickly flutters away as Damien lunges at him angrily, also causing Syaoran and Tomoyo to back away several feet.

"Keroberos, you vermin!" Damien fumes. "You follow Clow Reed despite the fact that he was a shallow little boy in the vast world of magic, vainly using his powers only for himself and no one else. All the while, my Master chose the path of bettering mankind, yet is somehow remembered as a villain! How can you support him after what he did to my Master all those years ago? Or did Reed actually have the wherewithal to erase those memories from between your ears?" he snarls, gathering up flaming spears in both his claws.

Syaoran pulls out another ofuda before readying his sword for another spell. "Just what do you want here, Damien?" Syaoran asks courageously.

Damien quickly spins around in a full circle, whipping Kero ferociously with his tail and sending the miniscule Guardian flying off into the sky. He then grabs Syaoran by his arms with but one hand and lifts Syaoran into the air, to eye-level with himself. "It would be such a shame to have to kill such a powerful sorcerer, so don't tempt me, Little Wolf. I have come for but simple business," he declares as he holds out his other claw. In his palm rests a small snake skeleton with limb bones, presumably wings, coming out the back just after the skull.

"What business?!" Syaoran asks frantically. He struggles furiously against Damien's grip, managing to touch the ofuda to his sword, but the discharge of magical water went straight up, missing Damien entirely. Syaoran resorts to flailing roundhouse kicks at Damien's face, but Damien does not even budge to Syaoran's blows.

"What's that thing supposed to be?" Syaoran asks, his eyes fixed to the snake skeleton in Damien's palm.

Damien holds the skeletal creature closer to Syaoran. "This is an artifact from when my Master was a Card Captor. This is the Key of Kaos. And you, Little Wolf, have been foreordained by my Master to be the Card Captor of the Kaos. Congratulations," he explains as he wraps his claw around Syaoran's hands and rolls down Syaoran's right sleeve down past his eblow, despite his best attempts to fight back.

"A Card Captor of the Kaos?!" Syaoran exclaims, flailing about. "I heard what you did to _her_, too. What could you possibly need both of us for?" he asks with a demand for answers.

Damien smirks at Syaoran. "You will understand when the Master reveals it," he responds in an unsatisfying way to Syaoran's question.

With the exposed skin of Syaoran's arm now touching the skeletal artifact in Damien's claw, the artifact glows bright orange in the eyes before taking life and crawling around like a centipede. It scurries from Damien's scaled fingers over to Syaoran's wrist and it backs down his arm, so that the tail pointed toward Syaoran's shoulder and the beak pointed towards his hand. The skull of the artifact crosses its knife-like beak across the back of Syaoran's wrist, drawing blood down his arm, but he only grits his teeth through the pain, stubbornly refusing to scream despite a believable amount of agony. His grip on his sword gets progressively weaker until it finally slips right out of his hand.

"W-what's it doing?" Syaoran asks, much weaker and no longer fighting nearly as vigorously, practically hanging limp in Damien's grip like a rag doll.

Damien turns his head towards the sky as he closes his eyes. The glowing orange Circle of Kaos appears below his feet, like magma glowing under the cracked pavement. He begins to speak an incantation with an echoing in his voice. "Key that hideth the powers of the Inferno, heed the call of Damien, thy Guardian Beast. There is one that seeketh contract with thee. His name is… Li Xiaolang. Crossbow of the Inferno, Release!"

The blood that trickles out from Syaoran's wound drips down the length of his forearm, forming a nearly perfect straight line down Syaoran's arm. The mobile artifact scurries along Syaoran's arm, aligning its vertebrae along the line of blood on Syaoran's arm before attaching itself cleanly to this line as if the blood were a magical epoxy. The vertebrae of the creature lace themselves along Syaoran's arm, further fastening the morbid device to Syaoran's arm.

After this had taken place, Damien releases Syaoran's limp form from his grip, letting him fall straight to the ground, but Kero quickly bolts from over the horizon and grabs Syaoran by the collar of his shirt by his mouth as he desperately lifts him over to where Tomoyo had witnessed the passing events of another of her friends succumbing to Kaos magic.

Tomoyo puts Syaoran's good left arm over her shoulder as she tries to keep him stood up, but Syaoran can barely keep his eyes open. In an un-ladylike fashion, Tomoyo shoots a fierce gaze squarely at Damien. "You monster! What did you do to Li-kun?! Wasn't it enough to select Sakura-chan and force her to chase those demonic cards of yours around Tomoeda?!"

Damien folds his arms, completely unfazed, as the Circle of Kaos below him dims and fades away. "The Little Wolf will be just fine. Trust me, if I wanted him dead, it would be all too easy… be he a relative of Reed's or not," he responds with sarcastic encouragement.

Kero floats beside Tomoyo, echoing her anger. "Damien, if you want to try and get to me through Sakura and the kozo, you might as well just attack me right now instead of involving them. I'm not going anywhere, and it's clear that you want a piece of me more than anything," he boasts, levitating defensively in a pathetic attempt to protect Tomoyo. "Leave everyone else out of this. This is between Guardian Beast and Guardian Beast."

Damien grips his fists tightly as he grits his teeth and leers intensely at the pint-sized Guardian Beast before him, but he finally breaks his gaze and scoffs before he paces away. "As much as I would love to kill you and destroy your very essence right here and now, it won't bring my Master back. So don't go thinking that I wouldn't love to see you die at my hands, but I have important business to attend to that doesn't involve you, fortunate little vermin." He spreads the large pair of dragon wings growing from his back as he floats off the ground and into the air before turning to face Keroberos, Tomoyo, and an unconscious Syaoran.

"So _you're _running away, and _I'm_ the vermin? Care to explain that one, you blighted scum?" Kero jeers at Damien while shaking his paw in the air.

Damien folds his arms. "Running and observing are two very different things, vermin, and it would do you good not to get them confused. For, you see, I cannot interfere in the final stage of the Rites of Kaos. The selected must capture a Kaos Card with the power of their own magic before the Key of Kaos will respond to their incantations and they will truly be a Card Captor of the Kaos. The Cherry Blossom passed her Rites with flying colors under the watchful eyes of Lycan, and now it's time to see if the Little Wolf can do the same," he explains. "Arise, blighted one. Chimera, release!"

At Damien's incantation, the mutated turtle shell with the cat head levitates into the air before growing to enormous proportions. The shell swells to the size of a battle tank, and the shell sprouts two wings on the left and right, one the white feathered wing of a bird, and the other a black, sinuous wing of a mythical dragon. The head of the creature emerges from the shell, revealing the head of a saber-toothed tiger. The forelegs emerge, revealing themselves as the tree-trunk-like legs of an elephant. The rear legs emerge, in the form of long, dangling octopus tentacles. The tail extends in a high arc, taking the shape of a scorpion's tail. With all four of the creature's limbs firmly on the ground, the creature lets out a thunderous roar. It begins to lumber slowly and clumsily down the street, stomping cars and pavement alike, making its way toward Tomoyo, Kero and Syaoran.

Syaoran's eyes begin to open up slowly, revealing an orange glare in the eyes. As he slowly regains consciousness, he looks up to the ominous amalgamated creature before him. He straightens his back as he pulls his arm off Tomoyo's shoulder. "Get out of here, Daidouji-san, Keroberos," he mutters monotonously.

Tomoyo clasps her hands together. "Kero-chan, Li-kun is under the control of some evil power that that freak Damien gave to him, just like Sakura was before." 

Syaoran darts a quick glare back at Tomoyo. "Look, I am _not _possessed by any_one _or any_thing_, now get out of here!" he insists harshly.

Kero stares at Syaoran with deep confusion. "I'm not sure. With Sakura, it's an easy distinction, but with the kozo, it's hard to tell whether he's being supernaturally possessed… or if he's just being a jerk."

Damien keeps his arms folded as he begins to get tiresome. "Geez, if a marauding, debased Kaos Card can't keep their puny attentions…" he mutters. "Chimera, crush them all beneath your mighty footfalls!" he commands from over the makeshift suburban battlefield.

Syaoran notices the further approach of the beast, so he backs away and keeps Tomoyo behind his arm as he backs up. "Look, if it wasn't obvious enough, the Chimera is a very dangerous Kaos Card. Furthermore, Chimera is a Kaos Card of Destruction, meaning that its powers are most geared towards more tangible forms of havoc. So if you don't escape now, it'll kill you both," Syaoran explains.

Tomoyo stubbornly grabs Syaoran's shoulder. "No! I didn't leave Sakura-chan to fight the Industry Card alone, and I'm not about to leave you here either," she insists.

Syaoran rolls his eyes as he shrugs Tomoyo's grip off his shoulder. "Just stay back…" he warns as he stares down the Chimera.

The Chimera lumbers ever-closer, its elephant-feet crushing more cars under its incredibly heavy body weight, while the tentacles smother the concrete pavement under its weight likewise. Nevertheless, Syaoran courageously somersaults underneath the creature to where he had dropped his sword. After grabbing his blade, he quickly crawls out from under the Chimera, over the trailing, slimy tentacles of the Chimera, before the enormous shell crashed down and smothered the pavement below, just narrowly missing Syaoran.

Syaoran places a double-handed grip on his sword as he observes the awkwardly low state of the Chimera. Noticing the slime-coating on the tentacle-limbs of the Chimera, the limbs that were now the closest to him, he pulls another ofuda out of his pocket and tosses it in front of him. As he straightens his sword to a horizontal position, the ofuda whips itself across the edge of the blade. "Summon: Emperor of Thunder!" Syaoran declares, sending a storm of magical lightning shooting out of the ofuda and at the moistly saturated tentacles of the Chimera, causing it to respond with a pain-filled howl.

After a moment, the scorpion-tail from the back of the Chimera retracts in, and the saber-toothed tiger head emerges out the back, and the tiger-head in front was replaced with the scorpion tail. It roars at Syaoran again, forcing Syaoran to brace himself against its foul breath.

"Creative, Little Wolf, very creative, using the weak points of the Chimera's individual limbs against it like that," Damien admonishes. "…But as strong as your ofuda magic is, you'll need to use the magic of the Key of Kaos to seal the Chimera away for good. Just pounding at it with your magic won't be enough like with Reed's cards… when the Cherry Blossom did all the sealing for you…" he hints.

Syaoran glances directly above him, at Damien. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asks, perplexed, but he quickly jumps out of the way to dodge the lightning-quick lunging from the Chimera's scorpion-tail. The tail instead imbeds itself into the street, narrowly missing its mark.

On the opposite side of the Chimera, Tomoyo and Kero move away from the Chimera and onto the relatively safer sidewalk.

"Kero-chan, what does Damien mean by all of that?" Tomoyo asks.

Kero's eyes open wide at the realization. "Hey, y'know, Damien has a point! The kozo never sealed his own Clow Card before. Sakura always sealed the card for him, and it would just choose him later if he was the one that did the most work towards sealing it. This'll be a first for him," he notes.

The Chimera pulls its elephant legs in and replaces them with two giant three-toed reptilian feet, resembling the limbs of an alligator. It slowly drags itself towards Syaoran, who backs away while shooting off bursts of lightning at the creature as it advances, but to no avail as the bolts merely bounce off the turtle shell.

Syaoran pauses from his lightning bursts and routs quickly, getting a good amount of distance between himself and the tediously-advancing Chimera. He then pulls out another, different ofuda. "Summon: Petals of Wind!" he commands, once again drawing the ofuda across his sword and this time whipping up a mighty wind. The gust, however, is unable to even budge the Chimera and merely runs over its shell, unable to stop the implacable advance, but a sizable distance still remains between him and the Chimera.

Damien lands on the ground softly behind Syaoran. "Seal it, you dolt!" he mutters under his breath.

Syaoran turns up to look at Damien with even more perplexity. "Are you trying to _help_ me?" he asks suspiciously. "I can do this myself, thank you very much!" he responds cockily.

Suddenly, Tomoyo comes running over from the sidewalk, with Kero flying at her side. "Li-kun! Li-kun! I just had an idea of how to defeat the Chimera!" she chimes up, rushing to Syaoran's side only to immediately lean on her knees and catch her breath.

"Daidouji-san, I told you to stay back!" Syaoran reminds Tomoyo, pulling another ofuda, again a new one, out of his pocket. "Summon: God of Fire!" he declares, shooting a stream of fire out of the ofuda by crossing it with his sword. But the Chimera responds by pulling the tiger-head into the shell, allowing the fire to blow smoothly over the surface of the Chimera's turtle shell. Syaoran grits his teeth in frustration.

"Li-kun, you have to seal it away… just like Sakura used to do to the Clow Cards… remember?" Tomoyo tells Syaoran in between swallowing fresh gulps of air. "It's the same incantation as sealing a Clow Card… only calling the target a Kaos Card instead."

Damien stares at Syaoran from behind with folded arms. He rolls his eyes. "Methinks I should've selected that _girl_ to be the Card Captor of the Kaos instead…" he mutters.

"But-" Syaoran begins, but goes silent as he stares at the gruesomely-themed artifact that had magically bound itself to his right arm. He analyzes the artifact thoroughly, in particular the head of the key and the arc-like wings that had been folded back. "…maybe…" he ponders before turning to Tomoyo. "Just don't expect me to do this on film for you…" he warns Tomoyo as he holds his forearm out before him.

"_I think he's got it…_" Damien thinks to himself as he finally begins to crack a smile for the first time.

Syaoran shuts his eyes as he begins the incantation as the Circle of Kaos appears around his feet. "Key hiding the powers of the Inferno, show your true form before me. I, Xiaolang, command you under our contract: …Release!" he commands.

At hearing the incantation, the artifact's wings spread out wide to form a single wide arc, and the skull folds over Syaoran's knuckles, like plate armor on his hand, but the flexibility of the vertebrate still allows Syaoran to swivel his wrist around. The tip of the beak itself begins to glow with an orange energy, as does the entire spinal column of the artifact. Fully transformed, it takes the shape of a crossbow, with the beak presumably being the arrow.

"_This _is a card-catching key?!" Syaoran exclaims, examining the 'Key' of Kaos with a measure of dissatisfaction. "I thought it was supposed to be some kind of wand that I had to swing and hit at the end of the card, not some stupid piece of jewelry- WAA!" he begins, but as soon as he points the crossbow at the Chimera, it launches out a long, orange bolt of laser energy that penetrates straight through the Chimera's nearly impenetrable shell, but also sending a kick through Syaoran's whole body that lands him squarely on his rear.

The glowing orange bolt remains imbedded in the Chimera's shell, causing its tiger head to pop out and snarl in pain. It begins to flail around wildly, extracting the octopus tentacles and pulling out a pair of crab claws. It thrashes these claws around, flattening yet more cars and pavement while sending violent tremors through the ground, causing Tomoyo and Syaoran to step back.

"Who's going to pay for all this damage?!" Tomoyo shouts over the riotous mutant cacophony as she takes cover defensively behind Syaoran.

In a quick flash, the Chimera's scorpion-tail shoots down to where Syaoran and Tomoyo are standing. Unable to dodge this blow, Syaoran raises his arms defensively, and the giant poisonous tail hits against Syaoran's gauntleted arm, doing no damage to Syaoran whatsoever. Noticing this, Syaoran wrestles against the mighty scorpion-tail, pressing it back and aiming the crossbow. As Syaoran grits his teeth and stares at the impending spike at the end of the scorpion-tail, the tip of the crossbow glows again and shoots out another bolt of energy, causing the tail to fly backwards and catch on fire. The tail burns away and dissolves into the air, leaving nothing but steam and smoke behind. With nothing but stubby limbs, the Chimera slowly drags itself across the street, towards the position of its assailant.

Syaoran stares again at the gauntlet-crossbow mystically strapped to his arm. "Not even a scratch…" he notices before looking back up towards the Chimera, witnessing an even fiercer tantrum from the deformed creature. He confidently braces his posture and aims the parasitic crossbow at the snarling creature's tiger head. "If this really is a Key of Kaos, then this should seal you off!" he begins, as the Circle of Kaos begins to glow at his feet.

The glowing orange bolt launches straight at the Chimera, impacting the tiger head right between the eyes. It begins to leak rays of white light out the wound as its remaining limbs burn away and vaporize, just as the Chimera's tail had done. But still, a straight, solid orange bolt remained, drawn from the tip of the crossbow to the Chimera's wounded head. This long rod begins to glow white as well.

"Return to your original form: Kaos Card!" Syaoran commands, sending a surge of orange power resonating through the bolt. As it reaches the Chimera, the orange wave envelops the whole of the creature's head and shell in an orange corona. The Chimera glows brightly as it reforms and shrinks in a bright orange light. After a short moment, all that remains of the Chimera in the form of a small piece of paper floats down like a feather in the air before softly landing on the ground. On the back of the card, currently the side facing up, an elongated and stretched out Circle of Kaos displays itself over the majority of the black background.

Approaching the card in a run, Syaoran stops right in front of where the card had finally landed. He slowly bends down to pick it up. He sees the central art of the card being a turtle shell adorned with the Circle of Kaos on its highest plate. Out each of the openings of the shell burst forth many unusual and vicious-looking heads, including those of snakes, alligators, bears, and wolves.

"Is… this what it's like to be a Card Captor?" Syaoran asks himself. But suddenly, something catches his mind and he turns back to see Tomoyo standing on the edge of the un-destroyed street pavement, with Kero floating beside her.

"And… cut!" Tomoyo calls out, lowering her camcorder.

Syaoran tenses up as he snarls at Tomoyo. "Hey! How much of that did you record exactly?!"

Tomoyo smiles innocently back. "Enough to capture your bravery, Li-kun," she responds innocently. "This way, when Sakura-chan sees this, she'll _know _that her Li-kun has her back."

Syaoran drapes his free hand over his face to cover the blushing. "Don't you dare, Daidouji-san…" he fumes. As he notices Tomoyo and Kero by themselves, his eyes shoot open and his blush dissipates. "Wait a sec, where'd that weirdo Damien go off to?!" he asks sternly.

Tomoyo and Kero turn around, not seeing anyone behind them.

"He _was _here," Kero responds. "…but his magic seems like it just vanished into thin air, without a trace at all…" he adds mystically.

Syaoran runs over to the two. "Pathetic stuffed animal. Guardian Beasts don't just vanish into thin air," he snipes at Kero. "Find him!" he orders.

"Sure, _Master_, when pigs fly," Kero responds snidely.

Syaoran shakes a fist at Kero. "You're airborne, aren't you?!" he snaps back, and thus the two begin a long, strung-out string of back-and-forth insults.

_In the middle of… nowhere?_

In a burst of bright orange fire, Damien appears in a dark, abysmally empty space. He unfurls his wings and opens his eyes to observe the total darkness of his surroundings.

"What? How did I get here?" he asks softly, only to hear his voice echo through the darkness.

As suddenly as Damien had appeared there, the ground, as it were, begins to rumble with the sound of heavy footsteps. Damien takes short flight in the air with a single bound as the first wave of thunderous tremors had nearly knocked him off balance.

"You left a huge mess, Damien," an unearthly, snarling voice answers Damien. "You were supposed to observe… and _only _observe Xiaolang's rites of initiation," it continues, getting progressively louder to Damien's perspective.

Damien lowers his guard and drops his gaze. "Oh, it's just you, Lycan. Hey, don't just pull me out of the material universe like that!" he responds, showing familiarity to the voice.

"FOOL!" the voice replies. Taking form, a bear-sized quadruped figure with large wings and a skeletal mask walks forth from out of the shadows, his shady body blending in almost perfectly with the dark background. It places an enormous claw on Damien's chest, driving him into the ground.

Damien looks up from the ground to see the face of the Elixir of Fire glaring down at him. "Hey, we're both on the same side, y'know!" Damien reminds Lycan.

"Sometimes, you make me wonder of the true nature of your allegiance," Lycan snarls back. "The Guardian Beast of Destruction… You and your Chimera card live true to your respective titles. I had to resort to what little magic I have left after Master's death to cover your tracks and erase the memories of all those that heard or saw, but I could not clean the memories of everyone there. You should be far more careful with your Card Captor, Damien. Keep a tighter leash on him… like I do with my Card Captor."

Damien muscles Lycan's clawed foot off his chest, allowing him to stand back up. "_Your _Card Captor? Both the Little Wolf and the Cherry Blossom are the _Master's_ Card Captors, belonging to _neither _of us, and I have enough personal interest vested in keeping this a private matter without your threats!" he retorts strongly with a clenched clawed hand. "It's almost time, and I couldn't wait for the Little Wolf to wrap his puny brain around how the Crossbow of the Inferno works."

"Indeed," Lycan answers back calmly. "It has been near two-hundred terrestrial oscillations since Master's entombment. This time will never pass again. But still, patience is a virtue…" he begins, once more slamming Damien into the ground and snarling over him. Saliva drips out of Lycan's mouth and lands on Damien's skin, vaporizing right off, while Damien attempts to back away from Lycan's breath. "…and I desire not to be the one to explain to Master Kaos how his Guardian of Destruction was gutted alive like a fish…" Lycan threatens before releasing Damien from under his foot. "Until Master appears again… don't do anything reckless," he threatens before walking off into the shadows, waving his spiked tail to and fro.

Damien picks himself up once again, holding his sore chest. "…Understood," he answers, but still looking on with hidden contempt.


	5. 4 Close to Home

Chapter 4: Close to Home

_Sakura's Room, early that evening_

Still sitting face-up in her bed and unmoved from earlier that day, Sakura continues staring at the ceiling of her room.

"The feelings… they're all gone… almost… Something's there… Not a Kaos Card… but close to one…" Sakura mutters. She struggles to lift her body off the bed, but is still unable to move. "So weak… Kero-chan… Tomoyo-chan… Li-kun…"

--

_The roof above Sakura's room_

On the side of the roof opposite the main road, so as not to be seen, Damien sits ponderously on the shingles, staring into the sky as the sun begins to set over the horizon. His tail hangs over the edge of the roof, holding him in position, while his prehensile feet take hold of the gutter. He leans back, staring out with folded arms. "The days are getting shorter again. They got short right before the Master died too…" he thinks aloud, but speaking in a subtle whisper.

He holds up his clawed left hand, holding only two Kaos Cards, his enormous reptilian paw making them look tiny in comparison though. 'I'm down to my last usable Kaos Card, and my candidate has been selected. I'm doing my part for the Master. If only I could be sure that Lycan was too. How _dare_ he accuse me of betrayal. There wasn't a soul who believed more in the Master's work than me…' he thinks, directing his attention to the opposite end of the horizon, where the first stars of the night begin to glimmer. He sneers into the darkness, as if to scare it away with his scowl.

"I curse you forever, Clow Reed. You doom mankind to a blanket of darkness and death with your obstinacy. But little do you know that morning is merely around the corner, and life itself refuses to be denied…" he speaks at the dark horizon. Damien finally leans up and spreads his wings, hovering in the air, but leaving one Kaos Card from his palm behind, carefully nesting it in between a couple of the shingles.

"Rest tight for now, blighted one. Test the Little Wolf when he arrives…" he tells the card before disappearing in a quick burst of orange fire.

--

_Out front of Sakura's house_

A whitish-tan van pulls up to the driveway at Sakura's house, and Tomoyo and Syaoran step out the back. Syaoran grabs his backpack and throws it over his back, while Tomoyo grabs her duffel bag and a posing Kero, whom she perches over her shoulder.

"Whatever, Daidouji-san, but in my book, having six identical vans for 'just in case' sounds really excessive and wasteful," Syaoran tells Tomoyo, as if answering a statement she had previously made.

"It got us back here after the, uh… calamity with the last one, didn't it?" Tomoyo replies with a giggle. "Well now that we're here, I can give Sakura-chan the update about the third Kaos Card no longer being a problem, and you can tell her what's been on your mind," she says to Syaoran.

Syaoran looks up at the yellow-walled house, particularly towards the walls where Sakura's room would be. He blushes as a certain thought crosses his mind. "Hey, what exactly are you implying by 'what's on my mind' anyway?" he asks with a frantically defensive tone, only serving to exaggerate the redness in his face.

Tomoyo begins to pace up the driveway, approaching the door while looking back towards Syaoran. "That's all up to you, Li-kun," she responds.

Syaoran shakes his head back and forth violently, causing the blushing to slowly fade away. With most of it dissipated, Syaoran jogs to keep up with Tomoyo, meeting her at the door.

Turning to Syaoran with another guilt-inspiring grin, Tomoyo pipes up again. "Well, are you going to ring the doorbell?" she asks.

Syaoran raises an eyebrow. "So first you're telling _me _how to handle a Kaos Card, but you won't even ring the doorbell yourself?" he asks coyly.

Kero flutters off of Tomoyo's shoulder and takes hold of Syaoran's hand. "C'mon, even a kozo like you can work a doorbell," he begins, raising Syaoran's finger involuntarily towards the button before Syaoran can react. "All you have to do is push here!" he explains, forcing Syaoran to push the doorbell, still before Syaoran had the wherewithal to pull his hand out of Kero's grip.

With the dinging sound of the doorbell reverberating through the house, Syaoran's blush returns to his face with a bright red vengeance, causing him to freeze in place where he stands. "You doofus, I was gonna' ring the bell when I was good and ready!"

"Kero-chan, that was mean…" Tomoyo scolds, holding back a giggle with all her willpower.

"But it gets funnier every time," Kero responds, but Syaoran swiftly grabs him out of the air.

"Want me to show you funny, Stuffed Animal?" Syaoran threatens.

Fujitaka opens the door to see Tomoyo and Syaoran at his doorstep. "Good evening to the both of you, Daidouji-san, Li-kun," he says with a cheery tone.

Reflexively, Syaoran stares downwards and holds up Kero to Fujitaka. "Here! It's Saku- uh- Kino- uh- you-your daughter's- i-it's her stoned animal- I-I mean stuffed animal- Kerobero- uh- Kinomoto-sa- um, sir-" he stutters rapidly.

Avoiding looking sentient as best he can, Kero glares sternly. 'I'll show you stoned animal, kozo…' he thinks silently.

"Could we come in please, Kinomoto-san?" Tomoyo interjects.

Fujitaka's sight draws itself up the nearby stairwell before returning to the two visitors at his door. "Well I don't think Sakura-san is feeling quite up to accepting visitors right at the moment. Presumably she spent most of last night on her school project and she's still resting up."

"Oh well, we'll just come back later then," Syaoran replies candidly before turning away and walking off, but Tomoyo grabs his shoulder before he could get away.

"Also," Tomoyo continues. "…Li-kun was looking forward to seeing how Sakura-chan is doing," she adds.

"On her project!" Syaoran adds sternly, still turned away from Fujitaka.

Fujitaka opens the door wide. "Sakura-san has good judgment in her friends," he compliments, stepping out of the way and allowing Tomoyo to enter, dragging Syaoran behind her by his collar.

At fully entering the house and standing upright, Syaoran pauses for a brief moment, with a light bulb going off in his head. "Somehow, this just got tremendously uncomfortable…" he mutters as he slips out of his shoes and sets them aside on an indoor carpet.

Tomoyo pats Syaoran on the shoulder. "Li-kun, don't be like that. Sakura-chan's dad is letting us inside, as opposed to sending us home or letting us stand outside all night," she responds.

Syaoran grabs Tomoyo's shoulder and pulls her ear close. "No it's more than just that. I mean that something is giving me that seriously, massively _uncomfortable _feeling…" he whispers with a hint-hint tone.

"Well of course, my apologies," Fujitaka answers. "What kind of host am I being? Let me put on some tea for the two of you," he says as he proceeds towards the kitchen and vanishes out of sight around a corner.

"Maybe I'm not making myself clear…" Syaoran whispers strongly. "… but 'uncomfortable' is a bad thing! A _very _bad thing! A very bad _unique _thing!" he hints.

Tomoyo grabs Syaoran's hand. "Your feelings _are _very unique, yes, but no one is forcing you to say those things right now. You can tell Sakura-chan when you feel that you're ready to. Other times will come."

Syaoran stares on with a blank blush on his face as he follows Tomoyo up the stairs. "I think I'll take you up on that waiting offer," he replies eagerly, but is interrupted as, halfway up the stairwell, Tomoyo blocks his advance and turns her head towards him.

"But Li-kun, no matter how long you choose to wait, you'll have to live with the consequences of your decision to do so. Because the only certain tomorrow that you have is a little square on the calendar," Tomoyo says to Syaoran in a proverbial way before commencing the rest of the way up the stairs.

Syaoran nods his head back and forth. 'You don't know the half of it. Because when I _say_ "unique", I _mean_ "dangerous"… Will I really get another chance?' he thinks to himself, his eyes drawn to the top of the stairs, but having the grip of his left hand wrapped around his right forearm, grasping at something bunched up under his rolled up sleeve.

--

_Sakura's room_

The door to Sakura's room cracks open, allowing a bright blue eye to look through the crack before opening the door wider. Tomoyo leans in enthusiastically, but her shoulders droop as she sees Sakura with her face buried in her pillow as she lays facedown on her bed wearing a pair of light blue pajamas.

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan? Wake up, Sakura-chan and come see what the Guardian Beast dragged in," she offers, stepping clear of the door, but Sakura remains motionless on the bed.

From the hallway, Syaoran hunches his back and stares skeptically at Tomoyo. "Do I have to?" he groans, almost whimpering.

Tomoyo holds a finger to her lips. "Shhh… Sakura-chan's fast asleep," she whispers.

"I am not…" Sakura mutters, lifting her head out of the pillow long enough to speak before plopping her head right back down again. She rolls over onto her back. "I'm up already, Tomoyo-chan. What is it?" she asks, her voice cracking uneasily.

Out in the hallway, Syaoran leans against the wall, sighing a deep breath of relief after hearing Sakura's voice. 'I'm not too late yet,' the thought comes up in his head. 'Though… she doesn't sound like herself.'

Sakura slowly begins to sit up and rub her eyes before yawning and stretching. "Is it morning yet?" she asks.

"No, it's still the same day you fell asleep. It's almost sunset," Tomoyo answers.

Sakura looks out her window to see the sun now beginning to set over the horizon, but isn't quite yet halfway over the horizon. "Hoee, I've slept the daylight away!" Sakura whines before flopping over onto the bed stomach-first. "So why am I still so tired if I've been sleeping all day?!"

Overhearing this, Syaoran's stomach twists uncomfortably, as the same feeling that he got when he walked in renews itself through his whole body. 'She's hurting because of these Kaos Cards. How could I mistake those cards for a bedtime story?!' he thinks, staring down remorsefully with clenched fists buried in his pockets. "If only I was more diligent…" he whispers.

"Diligence is an admirable virtue," Fujitaka tells Syaoran, standing right in front of him while carrying a tray with a teapot and four inverted teacups with matching plates.

Syaoran looks up at the source of the speech, seeing Fujitaka looming over him with a friendly smile on his face. Syaoran backs away, leaning closely against the wall to realize that Fujitaka had effectively cornered him.

Fujitaka lowers the tray, allowing Syaoran to grab hold of it. "Could you please take this to the girls, Li-kun?" he asks innocently.

Syaoran stands frozen with the tray firmly in his grip. Speechlessly, he nods his head. 'Yep, that's Sakura's dad alright. Now I know where she got that ominously friendly expression from…' he thinks to himself. "S-s-sure, s-sir," he stutters.

Fujitaka kneels down to eye-level with Syaoran. "For a close friend of Sakura-san's, Kinomoto-san will do just fine."

Syaoran blushes. 'I'm her "close friend"? First Daidouji-san, then Wei, and now Sakura's dad have all figured it out. Even that twit Keroberos has _some_ inkling. Is it really that obvious, or am I just over-thinking this whole thing?' he thinks. "Y-yes sir- uh, Kinomoto-san," he stutters, leaning off of the wall and carrying the tea tray into Sakura's room, walking along while nervously not bending his knees.

Sakura rolls over again, sits up on her bed and curls up into a ball, pulling her knees up to her chin. "Some tea would really hit the spot right now…" she mutters, not noticing Syaoran walking in.

Tomoyo smiles at Syaoran as he arrives in Sakura's room. "Well look who finally decided to show up," she comments.

Syaoran turns his head to see a distraught-looking Sakura sitting on the bed of the cramped little room. She looks straight ahead, hunched over and with her eyes halfway open, lacking their usual exuberance. Her hair is also a lot scruffier than usual, running off in different directions rather than in the smooth form that she usually brushes her hair in.

Syaoran nervously holds up the tray so that the teapot obscures Sakura from his field of vision. "Uh… um… er… uh… tea!" he finally spurts out.

Recognizing the voice, Sakura turns her head to see Syaoran carrying the tea tray in his rigidly straight arms. "Li-kun!" she exclaims as she stares with her eyes glued open with shock. She blushes profusely, attempting to hide her beet-red cheeks behind her knees and arms.

Kero energetically flutters towards the teapot as he lifts it off of the tray and hauls it over to Sakura's desk. "Alright, tea's on! Tomoyo, pour one for me! Me first, me first, me first, me first, me first!" he exclaims gluttonously, not realizing that he had taken Syaoran's optical shield away from him.

Tomoyo takes one of the teacups from off the tray that Syaoran carries, as well as a matching plate. "Now, now, Kero-chan, be patient. I'll pour you as much as you want," she responds, leading the greed-headed Guardian Beast out into the hallway.

Without the teapot in the way, Syaoran stares blankly at Sakura, who stares back with an equal crimson tint in her own cheeks. As Tomoyo and Kero had left the room, despite being right outside the door, Syaoran and Sakura were relatively alone.

Syaoran breaks his stare first, directing it at the window, out of which the sun had set almost halfway down the horizon. "S-sorry to come over so unexpectedly," he spits out.

Sakura smiles innocently. "No, it's alright. I should've been up, dressed, and working on my summer project hours ago, not sleeping through the whole day," she excuses Syaoran.

All of a sudden, Sakura jerks forward, putting her feet on the floor as to not fall off the bed. She grabs onto her chest and places a hand over her mouth, as if she was about to throw up.

Manning up, Syaoran rushes over besides Sakura and places the tray on the table before placing a hand on the convulsing girl's shoulder. "Are you okay? What just happened?!" he asks with concern. He kneels down and turns Sakura's head towards himself with the gentle touch of his right hand on her jaw.

Sakura lowers her hand away from her mouth, uncovering a smile. "Don't worry, I'm okay, Li-kun. I think it's just all the stress of that summer project hanging over my head." She grabs hold of Syaoran's right wrist through his sleeve to move his hand. Noticing something irregularly-textured and rigid under his sleeve, she holds up Syaoran's right arm. "Li-kun, is your arm okay? Did you get hurt?" she asks innocently, exaggerating an already deep blush from an otherwise frozen Syaoran.

Not getting much of a response from Syaoran, Sakura holds his right hand as she raises her other hand, reaching towards Syaoran's sleeve to roll it down, but Syaoran interrupts her by grasping her hand tightly around the wrist, causing Sakura to flinch away in an instant of distress.

"Don't!" Syaoran insists as he grabs at Sakura's wrist, causing Sakura to look back at him with a frightened perplexity. He pulls his hand out of Sakura's weak grasp and backs away from her before rolling up his right sleeve. But as soon as he grabs his sleeve, he freezes up and looks into Sakura's confused emerald eyes, answering them back with a stern stare. "Stand back," he warns before proceeding to roll up his sleeve.

Sakura attentively sits back on her bed, backing all the way up with her back to the wall and her knees pulled up to her chin. As Syaoran exposes more of his forearm, Sakura's eyes widen with an ambiguously scared, shocked, and confused expression. "Li-kun… what happened to you?" she utters fearfully.

Syaoran stares down at the ground shamefully as he holds up the Kaos-spawned Inferno Crossbow that had seemingly been surgically affixed to his right forearm. The setting sunlight glistens softly against its bleached surface, acting as if more metallic than bone. On the skin of Syaoran's forearm, several of the capillaries under his skin swell up, exposing bulging veins, the device having merged more intimately to his very skin to a greater extent than before. "I… I wanted to tell you sooner. I'm sorry…" Syaoran whispers solemnly, keeping his gaze away from Sakura.

Sakura rushes off her bed and nearly jumps on Syaoran to scrutinize the newly-uncovered device she had felt through Syaoran's sleeve earlier. She feels the morbidly-crafted device fastened to Syaoran's arm with the gentle touch of her small fingers. Its sleek design is smooth to her touch, like marble, but it bears the decayed discoloration of bone. Its very texture is warm to the touch, but comfortably warm, as opposed to being blisteringly untouchable. "Li-kun… are you still okay? Who did this to you?" she asks, looking up to Syaoran, who keeps his head turned away from her. "Tell me!" Sakura begs desperately.

Syaoran compliantly yet steadily turns his head and looks Sakura in her worried, distraught face. At the sight of Sakura's trembling pupils staring back at him, he immediately turns back away, feeling a sensation in his gut equivalent to having his intestines torn out. "It's a Key of Kaos…" he says softly.

"A Key of… Kaos? …W-what's that mean?" Sakura asks nervously, playing dumb with her words, despite her quivering body attesting volumes to a hidden nervous depression. Letting Syaoran's arm go and backing away, she sits back down on her bed, staring forward blankly. She again wraps her arms sorely around her stomach as she hunches forward.

Seeing Sakura hunch over in apparent pain causes Syaoran to quickly turn away and roll his sleeve back over the Inferno Crossbow. "Forget it. I shouldn't have even shown you. I _still _don't know what I'm doing here." He proceeds towards the door, but he feels a weak grip on his hand pulling him back.

"Wait, Li-kun," Sakura begs weakly through a painful wince. Her hand had found its way to Syaoran's, wrapping as tightly as she can muster. "It's okay. I've been having these stomach cramps all day anyway. I think it's because I slept through the whole day without eating anything."

Still looking away from Sakura, Syaoran's eyelids open slowly but widely. His shocked expression directs itself out the window. The sun had set over halfway across the horizon, but not much further.

Sakura smiles up at Syaoran, attempting to get some kind of reaction out of him. "Or, it could've been the whole summer project stress thing… but I've never had summer projects done on time anyway," she adds with juvenile giggle.

"Knock it off!" Syaoran snaps sternly at Sakura, causing her to flinch backwards. "I wasn't born yesterday. I know all about the Kaos Cards, so don't try to hide it. Daidouji-san told me everything. Honestly, what could you _possibly_ have been thinking, going after the Kaos Cards so rashly?" he asks, as if disappointed in his air-headedly perky ally.

Sakura rubs her weary eyes with her wrist. "Li-kun, it's really okay. I'm just tired, that's all. I'll be fine if I just get some food and a good night's sleep. Zettai-"

"I'm not kidding," Syaoran interrupts sternly, rolling his sleeve back down to show off his Inferno Crossbow. "This thing wasn't just handed to me. I had to fight _hard _against a Kaos Card and defeat it in order to just stay alive, much less to seal it away. So don't go thinking that you're the only one who knows what's afoot here."

Sakura shrinks away behind her knees, away from an intimidating Syaoran. "…daijobu…" she finishes quietly.

Syaoran walks over to Sakura and places his hands on her shoulders. "I'm a Card Captor of the Kaos now too. You don't have to push yourself anymore. I'll defeat all the Kaos Cards by myself. If two Kaos Cards take this much out of you, imagine what the full set will do."

Sakura blushes subtly as she looks up into Syaoran's eyes. "Li-kun, if we're both Card Captors of the Kaos, we should do this together. You don't need to do_ everything_ by yourself."

Syaoran's eyes stray to Sakura's desk. His left hand wraps around his right wrist, right at where the Inferno Crossbow had fixed itself to his arm. "My Key of Kaos… It's telling me that your Kaos Cards are in your desk." He turns away from Sakura and reaches to open the top left-hand drawer of Sakura's desk. Opening the drawer, Syaoran is greeted by a malevolent return glare from the Elixir of Fire, as well as two face-down Kaos Cards in an otherwise empty drawer.

Quickly swooping in, Sakura weaves around Syaoran and reaches into the drawer, grabbing the Elixir of Fire straight by the bottle, and frantically yanking it out of the drawer before Syaoran can react. Taking the bottle and clutching it close to her chest, she retreats back against the wall of her room, with Syaoran's suspicious eyes tracking her the whole way. Sakura curls up into a ball on her bed, hiding from Syaoran behind her knees and trying to hide the Elixir of Fire.

"Li-kun, please… don't be mad… Please, don't take it away…" Sakura mutters in terror, continuing to shrink away from Syaoran.

Syaoran stares somberly at Sakura's sudden nervousness. He holds out his open hand. "Just let it go and give it to me," he requests calmly. "Unless, that is, it's already taken control of you-"

"You're wrong!" Sakura insists in a burst of confidence before sulking back in her former fetal position. "I-I-I mean… y-yo-you're… you're wrong…" she says in a much more submissive, fearful tone. "The Elixir of Fire is how I defeated the Kaos Cards that I've captured so far. Without it, I'm just too weak. You see… I need the Elixir of Fire in order to be strong," she explains to Syaoran.

Syaoran, in response, still holds out his hand, affording Sakura every opportunity to hand over the Elixir of Fire. "No, _you're _wrong. That stuff doesn't make you stronger. And if it does, it isn't worth what it does to you."

"And what would _you_ know?" Sakura replies with boldness. "Li-kun, you're the strongest person I know. But that's just why you _wouldn't_ understand the Elixir of Fire. You don't know what it's like to be weak like I am. …No, like I _was_. But when I use the Elixir of Fire, I'm confident and brave. It helps me unleash my inner power. It helps me be strong. Like you are," she drones on.

Syaoran lowers his open hand and stares deeply into Sakura's eyes. "Don't mistake being stronger with being better. But if you _must _aspire to be strong, I suggest that you stop idolizing me. I've been me for over a decade, and being "strong", if that's the adjective you want to use, is overrated. If you think I've never known weakness… then I'd say that you never knew failure," he says, jarring a shocked return stare from Sakura.

"Li-kun, what are you saying?" she asks, looking up at Syaoran, eager for an answer. "Is this about… y'know…" she continues, looking away from Syaoran and expecting a death glare for even asking.

Syaoran sighs and takes a seat on Sakura's bed, and Sakura scoots next to him. "When we were fighting to capture the Clow Cards, nothing they threw at you could ever stop you from defeating them. No matter what, you would always be alright. 'Zettai daijobu'. You'd say that over and over again like some kind of mantra, and it was the only kind of strength that I didn't have: the strength to believe in yourself. But to think that you traded in your invincible spell for…"

Sakura opens her hands up and looks down at the Elixir of Fire. "…for this?" she asks.

Syaoran grabs Sakura's shoulders and tilts her chin with just the slightest touch of his finger. "You're still a Card Captor of the Clow Cards. What do you think they would say to you if they saw you like this? To see that their master had disowned them because she wants to be more powerful."

Sakura's eyes wander shamefully as she pauses, refusing to answer Syaoran's question. "Y-you don't… you don't understand…" she mutters.

"How would Fiery feel if you said that its flames didn't burn hot enough?" Syaoran poses hypothetically. "Or if Fly couldn't go high enough? Or if Dash couldn't run fast enough? Or if Windy's gusts weren't strong enough? Your Clow Cards chose you as their master because they believed in the power you had. You just have to believe in your cards the same way they believe in you." Syaoran pauses before again holds his hand open. "Give me the Elixir of Fire. Your place is with your Clow Cards. Leave the Kaos Cards to someone who _failed _the Final Judgment..." he says.

Sakura's eyes snap wide open as her grip on the Elixir of Fire tightens. She scoots away from Syaoran and stares at him in shock. "The Final Judgment?! _That's_ what this is about?" Sakura asks sternly. "You failed there, so you want to 'prove yourself' against the Kaos Cards like this is some kind of macho act! Ugh! Well if that isn't the most… the most… 'Li Syaoran' thing you've _ever_ tried to pull-"

Bubbling over with mixed emotions of anger and hurt, Syaoran grabs Sakura by the shoulder, pulls her close and delivers to her a thunderous right-handed slap across her cheek, sending her plummeting face-first straight to the floor. Hitting the floor hard, Sakura's limp hand releases the Elixir of Fire as she begins to softly break down and cry, all for her perspective audience of Kero and Tomoyo to see.

Tomoyo places her hands over her mouth in shock as she stares straight at Syaoran like he was possessed. "Li-kun, you…" she mutters fearfully.

Kero stares at Syaoran, not even flapping his wings as he hovers in midair, completely flabbergasted as well. "Kozo… I really didn't think you had it in you…" he says with bleak astonishment.

Syaoran stares down with contempt at the broken Sakura. "No… _that _was the most 'Li Syaoran' thing I've ever pulled…" he mutters deeply. Crouching down to Sakura's level, he reaches towards the Elixir of Fire and picks it up by the lanyard, examining it. He stares into the eye sockets of the skull-shaped container, and is greeted by a quick glare. "Now you leave Sakura alone, or so help me Clow I will extinguish you…" he grimly threatens the Elixir of Fire with such passionate fury that Tomoyo and Kero back away in fear, barely recognizing Syaoran at all. Ignoring Tomoyo's and Kero's reactions, he paces over to Sakura's desk and drops the Elixir of Fire into the still-open drawer where Sakura had grabbed the bottle from. Syaoran calmly closes the drawer, but not before the Elixir of Fire lets out a quiet, almost desperate glimmer.

From inside the dark, shut-off drawer, the shadows in Elixir of Fire's eye sockets appear to lift away, replaced by a glow as if the bottle were opening its eyes. It emits a deep, other-worldly cackle so low it is nigh inaudible. "Extinguish _me_? Heh heh heh heh heh… I would like to see you try," the voice resonates.

Tomoyo and Kero both stoop down to scoop Sakura up, and Syaoran soon joins them. Tomoyo attempts to throw Sakura's arm over her shoulder to stand her to her feet, and Sakura slowly regains her physical bearings as she plants her bare feet firmly on the hardwood floor.

Sakura looks over her shoulder at Syaoran with a reluctant fear as she cradles her sore left cheek in her free hand. "Li-kun… y-you… you hit me…" she whimpers softly.

"You're welcome," Syaoran answers, which causes Tomoyo and Sakura to look back at him with an expression of confusion. Syaoran then places his hand on Sakura's shoulders as he stares protectively into her eyes. "The Elixir of Fire had taken you over. I couldn't just sit by and let you fall victim to it again. This is why I want you to stop going after the Kaos Cards. If that infernal soy sauce is the only way for you to defeat the Kaos Cards, I'd rather face them all on my own rather than dragging you down into this." Without thinking, Syaoran lifts his right hand off Sakura's shoulder and softly strokes Sakura's sore left cheek with the gentlest touch.

Kero floats in between the euphorically romantic couple of Sakura and Syaoran, looking Syaoran in the face. "Uh, kozo, you might be forgetting something…" he says reluctantly.

Syaoran frowns suddenly at Kero's mood-wrecking intervention between him and Sakura. "What?" Syaoran asks with an irritated undertone.

Kero folds his arms. "If you haven't forgotten, Lycan, the Guardian Beast of Despair, has selected Sakura as the Card Captor of the Kaos, the same way Damien selected you. So whether you like it or not, Lycan will be back with more Kaos Cards and will push Sakura's magical powers to their limits, rather than waiting for you to show up and save the day. As long as there are more Kaos Cards on the loose, Sakura needs the Elixir of Fire to defeat them upon your absence and incapacitation," he explains.

Syaoran lowers his arms off Sakura's shoulders and folds his arms. "You're not _honestly _advocating that Sakura use the Elixir of Fire again, are you?"

Sakura's eyes widen briefly.

"Um, Li-kun-" Tomoyo butts in, noticing Sakura's change in expression.

"Not now, Daidouji-san," Syaoran cuts Tomoyo off before pointing a finger at Kero. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll protect her no matter what. There is no reason for her to use the Elixir of Fire with me at her side doing the grunt work against the Kaos Cards. Sakura has her Clow Cards to protect her from the Kaos Cards should anything go wrong."

"Li-kun?" Sakura pipes up optimistically, taking her arm off of Tomoyo's shoulder.

"What? What is it?" Syaoran answers with bubbling frustration.

Tomoyo leans her mouth over to Syaoran's ear and puts the back of her hand over her mouth. "Li-kun, I was trying to warn you, but you shushed me. You forgot the keigo for Sakura-chan's name!" she whispers, causing Syaoran to go stiff at the knees and red in the cheeks.

Kero flutters out of the way, exposing the cheerful and bubbly stare of his master. Sakura smiles at Syaoran with such bright emotion in her face that the rest of the world would seem to fade away in the light of Sakura's cheer.

"Li-kun, you called me Sakura," Sakura notices. "My dad says that you're not supposed to call someone by their first name only unless you're a close friend, which can only mean one thing…" she eludes.

Syaoran stutters wildly. "I-I-I-I-I-" is all that he can get out.

Sakura's cheerful aura suddenly wears off as she stares somberly at the ground. "You don't respect me," she finishes depressingly, causing Syaoran to faint melodramatically.

Syaoran climbs back to his feet. "Yeah, yeah you're right- wait no, no, no, you're wrong- I mean I _do _respect you- I'm not trying to be rude I swear!" he spurts out frantically.

Sakura smiles up at Syaoran. "Don't worry, Li-kun, I understand. It must be hard to keep using keigo when it's not a part of your native language. I don't mind. You can call me Sakura if you want to," she responds with a close-eyed grin. She steps forward towards Syaoran, but she loses her balance in mid step and begins to fall forward limply.

Syaoran reacts quickly and catches Sakura, yet he blushes when, presumably by reflex, Sakura's arms find their way around his waist. "Sakura? Sakura?" he calls out gently at first, but repeats his calls with greater urgency as Sakura remains unconscious.

Tomoyo again puts Sakura's arm over her shoulder and stands her up, and Syaoran takes Sakura's other arm over his shoulder as his gaze heads out the window.

"Li-kun, something's wrong," Tomoyo notices.

"Gee," Syaoran retorts sarcastically.

The sun had completely set over the horizon, leaving the silhouettes of the buildings on the horizon to glow a soft orange. This glow stretches a short distance over the horizon and the rest of the sky is dominated by a dark, cool blue night dotted with numerous tiny stars.

Syaoran frowns into the night sky. "Nighttime. It's started," he says, gently lowering Sakura's arm off his shoulder as he proceeds to pace over to and open the window.

Kero zips beside Syaoran quickly as he sees Syaoran climb outside the window. "Hey, hey, kozo! What's gotten into you?!" he shouts in protest to whatever Syaoran might be attempting.

With his left foot out the window, Syaoran leers back at Kero. "I should've dealt with this when I first walked in and sensed something wrong." He turns his attention back outside. "Someone planted a Kaos Card out here," he explains, lifting himself completely out the window.

Tomoyo gently lays Sakura down on the bed back-first as she scoops up Syaoran's backpack and joins Kero at the window. "A Kaos Card? I thought Sakura-chan was supposed to be a Card Captor of the Kaos Cards or something. Why would Damien try to hurt Sakura-chan when she's supposed to be on his side?" Tomoyo asks with perplexity.

Syaoran looks deeply into the night sky, finding his gaze responded to by the flickering of starlight. "I don't know. But from Sakura being so tired like she is, I'd say this is the work of the Plague Card. It's formed a locus of power somewhere nearby to infect Sakura. Fortunately, just having come off of a possession from the Elixir of Fire, she's only sleepy right now, but not gravely ill yet," Syaoran hypothesizes.

"Plague?" Tomoyo asks Kero.

Kero turns toward Tomoyo to answer her question. "Plague is another Kaos Card aligned to destruction, meaning that Damien was the one who set this up. Plague's powers induce sickness and nausea on its targets. But Plague's aura of effect allows it to afflict entire cities of people. If Damien really hates people that much, why did he sic Plague on Sakura? Why didn't he just use it on all of Tomoeda while he was at it?" Kero asks hypothetically in the middle of his explanation about the Plague Card.

"I'm going to find out," Syaoran boasts. He rolls up his right sleeve as the roof below him glows. The Circle of Kaos appears below Syaoran's feet, slanted by the roof, as Syaoran lifts forth the Inferno Crossbow on his forearm.

"Key hiding the Powers of the Inferno, show your true form before me. I, Xiaolang, command you under our contract: Release!" Syaoran recites. The bird skull wraps over Syaoran's fist, and the wings of the skeletal object spread out. The glow from the Circle of Kaos subsides as Syaoran points the Inferno Crossbow out into the empty night. "I told you, Daidouji-san, that Kaos Cards are usually only active at night. Chimera could adopt the sleep patterns of a diurnal animal, but Plague has no such ability. Plague just activated itself when I broke Sakura's grip on the Elixir of Fire, so its presence should be close by. Once I capture it, I'll find Damien and get to the bottom of his motive behind his little assassination attempt," he explains, pointing his Inferno Crossbow around, trying to find the hidden Plague Card.

"You're not the only ones trying to get to the bottom of this…" a demonically ferocious and angered voice echoes out from the night sky, causing Syaoran, Tomoyo and Kero to look around in all directions. From high in the clouds, a dark-skinned being's four enormously-clawed paws penetrate the dark sky, falling from what appears as a portal from some unknown dark realm. The wolf-like beast measured an enormous size, easily the size of a battle tank. Its muscular torso penetrates the edge of the portal in the sky, followed by a horn-laden bony mask with similar design to the Elixir of Fire, this mask being only tangible-appearing feature of the creature aside from the claws. Attached to its back is a long spinal column, ending in a powerful, spiked tail. On the thorax-segment of the spine grows a set of enormous bat wings with a shadowy membrane imitating the nightmarishly dark skin of the creature itself. Despite the creature's wings being near invisible against the backdrop of the night sky, the creature's wings flap about, allowing it to stay levitated in the air while also kicking up a violent wind that forces Syaoran to brace himself on the edges of the window or be blown to the ground. The creature lets out a bellowing, ear-splitting roar.

"It's Lycan!" Kero notices.

Tomoyo clasps her hands over her ears tightly, but is still able to hear Kero, but just barely. "Lycan?! I thought you said that he was the Guardian Beast of Despair, not Destruction! What's he doing here?!" she asks loudly.

"Not a clue!" Kero yells back.

Syaoran points his Inferno Crossbow desperately at the menacing Guardian Beast before him. "You'd better leave Sakura alone too! If you hurt her, I swear I'll gun you down!" he threatens courageously.

Lycan turns his burning red gaze towards Syaoran first. "You must be Li Xiaolang, the chosen of that _cur_ of a Guardian Beast, Damien. Finding you was much easier than I would have expected. I will deal with _you _when appropriate. For now, you will tell me where the treacherous snake Damien disappeared to, and _what _exactly he is doing to _my _Card Captor!" Lycan thunders out demonically.

Syaoran recoils against Lycan's booming voice as he re-focuses the aim on his Inferno Crossbow.

"STOP!" Tomoyo shouts out. "Someone could see this big scene! Li-kun, you have to do something!" she urges Syaoran frantically.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Lycan answers Tomoyo. "Thanks to the power of my _superior _Kaos Cards of Despair, the fools around cannot hear, see or feel the power that I exert with my existence…" he explains ominously.

Syaoran stares back at Lycan in total shock and awe of his coldness. "You … you killed all those civilians?!" he asks, lowering the aim on the Inferno Crossbow slightly.

"Pah!" Lycan retorts loudly. "To kill would be to show mercy. I, however, am not as merciful as my counterpart. Imagine what it is like to be unable to see. To be unable to hear. Unable to feel. Unable to sense anything. Forced to fearfully wander the world endlessly… hopelessly. Thatis what _I_ have done…" Lycan explains boastfully.

"That's horrible!" Kero responds emphatically, following Syaoran outside. The Circle of Clow appears below him. "Kozo, you find the Kaos Card. I'll deal with Lycan," Kero says to Syaoran. Syaoran responds with a nod as Kero's wings swell up to large proportions and overtake his miniscule body. After a pulsation of light, the feathered wings retract, revealing a large, lion-sized, golden-furred panther with bronze, ornate armor adorned with a single large ruby over his ribcage, and another over his forehead.

Lycan squints at the still-miniscule form of Keroberos before him. "I _still_ see not the power which you boast of in your true form, Keroberos…" Lycan belittles.

Keroberos snarls at Lycan before taking flight above the house. He shoots forth from his mouth a raging stream of bronze fire, straight at Lycan's bestially enormous form. But instead of causing Lycan to catch fire, the flames sink into Lycan's skin, passing on into a vanishing point within Lycan's body, as if Lycan's very skin opened a portal into a nowhere-dimension for Keroberos's mighty fire attack to pass harmlessly into. Keroberos ceases his attack in shock as he can barely wrap his mind around how stunningly unaffected Lycan was, and how Lycan's body seemed not even to exist to be able to attack.

"To fight the Guardian Beast of Despair is to meet Despair itself," Lycan responds as his form fades into the night sky. A split second later, Keroberos is slashed by an enormous eldritch claw, inexplicably coming from out of the sky itself. Keroberos's fur is sent flying off his body as the slash sends him reeling. After this other-dimensional offense, Lycan reappears before a now fallen Keroberos atop the roof of Sakura's house.

"Keroberos!" Syaoran calls out, trying to see if there remained any fight in the already battered Guardian Beast.

"You cannot win either, Xiaolang," Lycan threatens Syaoran. "You must find the Plague Card before my Card Captor is killed by it. Use your Kaos Card and bid haste, for my labors with Kinomoto Sakura are not yet finished!" Lycan orders.

Syaoran bites his lip as he holds up the Chimera Card. Long shadows stretch across his face, induced by the glowing Circle of Kaos below him. "You'll call her 'Kinomoto-_san_', Lycan. You don't deserve to call her by name…" Syaoran responds deeply before tossing the Chimera card out before him.

Lycan glares back at Syaoran with a hint of intrigue by the confidence and nerve with which Syaoran had confronted him with.

"Impute to me the sharp senses of a wolf, the greatest of all predators: Chimera!" Syaoran commands, shooting a red bolt of energy from his crossbow at the Kaos card in front of him.

The release of the Kaos Card lets loose a blast of white energy that wraps Syaoran in a cyclone. Within the translucent cone of the hurricane-like activation of the Chimera, Syaoran's nose stretches out and elongates. Furthermore, his ears grow long and pointed. Finally, his hazel eyes turn a bright yellow as his pupils narrow into lines rather than an orb. With Syaoran's metamorphosis complete, the cyclone of Chimera's power dissipates.

Syaoran begins to use his heightened senses by twitching his ears and nose, as well as turning his head in all conceivable directions. As his line of sight returns to the roof of Sakura's house, he turns to his left as the twitching of his nose and ears become even more erratic. Having homed in on what appears to be just empty shingles, Syaoran aims his Inferno Crossbow at a gap in the shingles. "I've got you now, flea. You can't escape. Return to your original form: Kaos Card!" Syaoran commands as his Inferno Crossbow shoots at a spot on the roof right in between two shingles.

Tomoyo eagerly leans out the window to see Syaoran seal the Kaos Card, but all she could see was a red bolt lodged into the roof, between a pair of shingles. "Uh, Li-kun, I think you missed…" she hints at Syaoran.

Syaoran cracks a canine-fanged grin. "Wait for it…" he says, holding up a finger optimistically.

The Circle of Kaos suddenly appears in a flash below Syaoran's feet. The bolt of red energy dissipates from its stuck position and it flows into Syaoran's hand, reshaping itself into the form of a Kaos Card. The red glow of the card subsiding, the card's back displayed the dark red Circle of Kaos over the light grey background. Turning the card over, Syaoran sees at the bottom the words "The Plague". The picture of the card shows an eight-legged beetle creature with intricate patterns on its shell with resemblance to the smooth contours of fire.

--

(Sakura's room, later that night)

"Kero-chan! Kero-chan!" a high-pitched and revitalized Sakura calls out in a dark void. This darkness is finally penetrated when Kero at last opens his eyes to see Sakura, Tomoyo and Syaoran perched over him.

Kero opens his eyes slowly as he finds himself lieing with his back down on a pillow on Sakura's bed. Lifting himself up, he twitches his wings before floating up a short distance into the air as he stretches out. He yawns loudly as he continues to stretch his arms out. "I'll be fine. I take it from the fact that I'm still alive that the kozo managed to get rid of Lycan, right?"

Syaoran lifts up his right arm, with the retracted Inferno Crossbow still on his arm. He holds up the Chimera Card and the Plague Card in his right hand. "Yeah, after I sealed Plague, he just vanished. Good thing he did though, because I don't know what I could've done with you and Kinomoto-san both down."

Sakura tilts her head slightly in Syaoran's direction. "Hoee? Don't you mean Kero-chan and 'Sakura'?" she asks.

Syaoran returns Sakura's glance. "No, I mean him and 'Kinomoto-san'," he responds, shaking his head and standing to his feet. "This really isn't the best time for that. It's late and I've gotta' get home now," he responds, heading for the door and grabbing the doorknob. "Thank you for having me over."

"No, thank _you_ for making me feel better," Sakura responds with a grin.

Syaoran looks back towards Sakura out the corner of his eye before opening the door and walking out. He gently shuts the door behind him.

Tomoyo also stands up and heads for the door. "Sakura-chan, you should get some rest tonight. I'm going to meet up with Li-kun and have my bodyguard drop him back at his apartment," Tomoyo explains, also heading out the door and closing it gently behind her.

--

(outside Sakura's room)

Tomoyo shuts the door behind her and sees Syaoran leaning against the wall in the hallway. He still holds up his two Kaos Cards, but he now rolls his sleeve over the Inferno Crossbow and he slips his two Kaos Cards into his backpack.

"Something the matter, Li-kun?" Tomoyo asks quietly.

Syaoran stares on somberly. "She thinks I'm a foreigner. Keroberos calls her by name all the time, but Sakura doesn't pay a moment's notice."

"You should've said something," Tomoyo responds.

"I DID!" Syaoran insists. "I… I mean I _did_ find and seal Plague when it was hiding under the shingles, even though it was only the size of a flea. By sealing it, I saved her life. Doesn't that count for something?" he asks.

Tomoyo grins at Syaoran's misunderstanding. "I'll admit, if it were anyone else other than Sakura-chan, she probably would've known by now. But if it was someone else, would it be worth it?" she asks, eliciting a perplexed return stare from Syaoran. "You have to tell Sakura-chan exactly how you feel, or she won't know. She may not be the best at reading between the lines, but if you were to tell her how you felt about her, she'd never forget it for as long as she lives."

Syaoran takes his weight off the wall and heads towards the stairwell. "For as long as she lives, you say…" he mutters.

Tomoyo follows Syaoran as he heads downstairs to put his shoes on. "You're still worried?"

Syaoran reaches for his shoes to slip them on. He glances at Tomoyo out the back of his eye. "While Sakura might not be good at inferring, I am. Lycan was furious about something. But blind fury isn't part of his nature. He's normally a logical, cold, and apathetic…" he drones.

Tomoyo tilts her head as she reaches to put on her own shoes. "A logical, cold, apathetic… what?" she asks.

Syaoran shakes his head. "I was trying to avoid using the word 'character'," he responds. "At any rate, something bad must be happening with his plan. That's the only thing that could make Lycan that kind of angry."

Tomoyo places a finger on her chin. "But isn't something that's bad for him going to be good for us?"

Syaoran opens the main door and leaves the house. "That's why Lycan is so angry. He's in a mode of desperation. And you're most likely to do something reckless when you're desperate," he explains. "Lycan is getting frustrated. Which, to us, can only mean that something very bad is going to happen in the near future."

Tomoyo places a hand over her mouth. "Well, what do you suppose we should do about it?"

"I'll tell you what we'll do," Syaoran answers. "I want you to keep a close eye on Sakura whenever you can. Call her frequently to make sure she's okay. I'll do what I can in the meantime myself."

"Which is?" Tomoyo asks.

Syaoran smiles as he stares at Sakura's window from the outside of the house. "Trust me. Nothing bad is going to happen to Sakura if I can help it."

Syaoran heads straight for the back of the van and opens the rear doors. Tomoyo quickly follows him into the back of the van, and the two shut the doors from the inside. After the engine revs up, the van drives off.

--

(back in Sakura's room)

Tomoyo had just shut the door behind her and Syaoran, allowing Sakura to let out a deep sigh of relief as she lays her head over on her bed. "I'm so glad Li-kun was here," she mutters. "Kero-chan… about what you said this morning… You were wrong."

Kero turns his head. "Are you still loopy or something?" he asks.

Sakura folds her arms and rests her chin on them. "You told me I didn't need Li-kun's help. You were wrong," she answers serenely.

Kero rolls his eyes. "I'll admit it, I was skeptical about the kozo at first. But if he's _really_ dumb enough to stick his neck out for _my _master, who am I to tell him not to kill himself?" he responds.

Sakura shakes her head. "Uh-uh, that's not it. It was like when I had that dream about the Nightmare Card. Li-kun was there… and he tried to protect me from Lycan then, too."

A look of mischief crosses Kero's face as he floats right in front of Sakura. "Sakura and Kozo, sittin' in a tree-"

"KERO-CHAN!" Sakura scolds loudly. "It's not like that!"

"Oh?" Kero asks skeptically. "Enlighten me, then. What's the deal with the kozo all of a sudden?"

Sakura smiles blissfully. "That dream really got me thinking. He's always trying his best to protect me. Even after all the Clow Cards were sealed and I was declared their master, he didn't resent me for passing the Final Judgment. It's like… he was relieved that I was safe… Even now, against the Kaos Cards, when the stakes are so high, he would rather get hurt himself than let me get hurt. I've never seen Li-kun this way before. I wonder why he's acting like this…"

Kero shrugs his shoulders. "Who knows? Forget about it for tonight. Otherwise, you won't be able to get any sleep at all," he advises, floating over to his drawer / makeshift bedroom.

Sakura rubs her eyes wearily. "It's so confusing. I don't know what to do now. But I just can't forget this, not even if I tried. It's so strange…" she comments.

Kero pauses before entering the open drawer with his dollhouse-sized room in it. "Please, do yourself a favor and try not to think about it," he pleads.

Sakura shuts her weary eyes as she stands up and slips under the covers of her bed. "I guess you're right. He _did _say he'd protect me. And when he said that… I believed him."

Kero pokes his head out the drawer. "Well if memory serves, he also slapped you. Some protector. I'd _never_ lay a hand on you, no matter what it came to!" Kero responds.

Sakura sits up in her bed. "Kero-chan, you don't _have _hands. Besides, you both protect me in your own ways. I just wished I hadn't said all those nasty things to him."

Kero hopelessly leans over the edge of the drawer and lets out a heavy sigh. "It was just the Elixir of Fire talking! I knew it, Tomoyo knew it, and even the kozo knew it! Besides, everything you said was right on the money. He had it all coming to him, but he shouldn't have gotten all hot-headed and taken his frustrations out on you," he reasons.

Sakura holds her left cheek and repeatedly runs the fingers of her left hand over it. Tears begin to well up in her eyes as she remembers the feeling of Syaoran's hand across her cheek. "Li-kun… I wish that you'd tell me…" she whispers to herself.

Kero rolls his eyes before he ducks his head into his little cubby hole of a room. He grumbles about indiscriminately as he closes the drawer from the inside.

Sakura at last lays her head down on the pillow. She bunches up the covers over her shoulders as she rolls onto her side and shuts her eyes. 'Wherever you are, good night, Li-kun… and I'm sorry…' she thinks to herself before allowing a relaxing rest to overcome her.


	6. 5 Broken

Chapter 5: Broken

(a black void)

Lycan paces slowly in circles about a black empty space. He swings his thorny tails to and fro like an anxious dog. 'Grrr, where is that Damien?! Does he honestly think he can get away with that stunt with Plague, much less hide from me? He could have killed my Card Captor, and then all our planning and scheming would be for naught.' Lycan muses, though it can't be discerned whether he said this or merely thought it. Growing ever more frustrated, he lets out a mighty roar. "DAMIEN!"

Lycan is answered with but a dark, empty silence for the next several moments, yet each of those moments would seem to last a timeless eternity in Lycan's wake.

Lycan calmly shuts his glowing red eyes. 'Never mind that coward. He has no Kaos Cards left, and is therefore of no further use to me at the moment. But I must locate him soon, as the time continues to run thin. Hmm… perhaps a little turnabout could get him to come out of hiding…' he ponders calmly, shunning his inner fury. "Kinomoto Sakura, I invoke the contract which you have made to Kaos. Appear before your Guardian Beast at once," he commands.

Obeying Lycan's command, the darkness before Lycan morphs about and magically takes the shape of Sakura's bed, with Sakura sleeping peacefully under the covers. The bed appears like a small toy to Lycan however, and Sakura appears smaller still. Lycan creeps his face closer and closer, exhaling strong torrents of breath over Sakura's bed sheets.

Sakura only rolls over, away from Lycan's breath. "Kero-chan, shut the window. Yucch… and remind me to tell Big Brother to take out the trash. The wind smells like dead fish…" Sakura mutters in her sleep.

"Wake up!" Lycan bellows, causing Sakura to jump up under her covers and turn to face the enormously-sized Guardian Beast.

Sakura stares up at Lycan's mask, recognizing it immediately. "H-h-h… Hoee!" she shrieks, backing away from Lycan, but falling right off the edge of the bed. She peeks up slowly over the bed, quivering under Lycan's red gaze. "Uh…. Good morning, Lycan-san…" she giggles, attempting very poorly to lighten the mood.

Lycan's eyes get narrower, his internal anger begins to boil noticeably, but a whisper in the darkness reaches out to his mind. 'She doesn't know any better, Lycan. Your powers have since diminished after surrendering Nightmare to her…' the voice speaks, calming Lycan down, but Sakura doesn't notice this voice at all.

"Pleasantries aside," Lycan snaps. "I have a task for you," he orders, causing Sakura to recoil in fear.

"A task? Ohh..." Sakura whimpers as she slowly crawls back onto her bed. She carelessly slips under the bed sheets. "Sorry, I can't. I'm tired, and I have to get up early tomorrow. Can't I take care of it in the morning?" she groans, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she is effectively at Lycan's mercy, as if he had any.

Lycan calmly bides the urge to stomp Sakura like a bug under his paw. Instead, he leers at Sakura with squinted, piercing red eyes.

Sakura snuggles warmly under her covers as she rolls away from Lycan. She begins muttering in her sleep. "Kero-chan, I just had the weirdest dream… Lycan asked me to do something… No, I woke up before he said what for…"

Lycan's patience grows ever thin until he finally throws his weight onto his hind legs and rears up before crashing down on the 'ground' thunderously, eliciting a sharp scream from Sakura that jars her from her rest.

Sakura sits up in her bed and grabs at her chest, her heart beating at an incredible rate on account of her being startled awake. With her breath regularizing, she looks around into the empty area devoid of everything. Everything except her and Lycan, that is. Sakura looks back up towards Lycan, still not quite comprehending the reality of her situation. Sakura looks straight forward again as she quickly pinches her own cheek, flinching slightly at the reality-confirming pain.

"It's not a dream," both Sakura and Lycan say in unison.

Sakura shoots a quick glance back up at Lycan before standing on top of her bed. She recoils in terror as she looks over the edge of her bed to see an enormous black chasm all around her. There is nowhere for her to run or hide.

Lycan's red stare becomes more relaxed and calmed. "And now that we've established that this is real, it is time to attend to the matter at hand. For if you fail to comply… Well, you might say that 'it's a long way down'…"

Sakura returns a seriously petrified glance back to the edge of her bed and the infinity beyond. Pools of perspiration run down her face as she cannot find the strength to turn away from the omni-present fissure in reality that surrounds her. She gulps in deeply.

Lycan raises his right forepaw and slams it down, and the resulting shock causes Sakura to lose her balance and fall forward, straight into the pit of darkness. Sakura clenches her eyes shut and curls up into a ball as she feels herself begin to plummet faster and faster, screaming louder and louder the whole time. In a brief moment of courage after a long while of screaming at the top of her lungs, Sakura cracks one of her eyes open to see the giant claws of Lycan's forepaws. She stops screaming when she notices her bed behind her, and that while she felt like she was falling to her death, she apparently didn't fall at all but was levitating in the void. Sakura stares around blankly before sending a comical grin up to Lycan.

"Ehehehehehe… uh, I knew that…" Sakura giggles, coming to a standing posture while floating in the darkness.

Lycan lowers his head and nods it back and forth, muttering deep, incomprehensible curses under his breath. He looks back at his ditzy would-be Card Captor with contempt. "At least _try _to show a backbone," he pleads. "You'll need it for your assignment," he adds.

Sakura looks up at Lycan with a tired expression. "Assignment? What am I, an errand girl? I have to clean the house and make dinner tomorrow," she protests.

Lycan continues his stare. "Oh I have a feeling that you'll not only be _able _to accomplish this task, but that you will _want to_ as well. For I, Lycan, the Guardian Beast of Despair, command you, Kinomoto Sakura…" Lycan pauses for a moment as Sakura begins to look on eagerly. "…to kill Li Xiaolang," he finishes.

Sakura's jaw hangs open in shock. "Hoee! Kill Li-kun?!?!" Sakura climbs onto her bed and stands up, waving her arms in a refusing manner. "No way! Absolutely not! I'd never hurt Li-kun! He swore he'd protect me from the likes of you!" Sakura insists.

Lycan smirks, looking around to the emptiness about the two of them. "Well? Do you think Xiaolang would protect you from me… right now? Your hero is nowhere even close to here. It appears as though you and I are all alone in this void. Are you still sure he is going to protect you now? …Or is he a liar?" Lycan asks.

Sakura smirks smugly as she folds her arms. "That's not fair, Lycan!" she continues to argue. "Li-kun would _definitely _come to my aid if I wasn't here, wherever 'here' is. But now, he obviously can't!"

"And yet he still made the promise?" Lycan continues to prod, poking his nose closer and closer to Sakura. "Why do you think he made that promise, Kinomoto Sakura? For if he was serious about protecting you, he would _surely _be here now. Xiaolang knew in his heart that such a promise could never be kept, but he made it anyway. He told you because he wanted you to feel safe for the moment… when in fact you are not safe now. What kind of protector does that make Xiaolang to you? He was concerned about your emotions, not your safety. Can you then reason, if he does not care for your well being, that he does not care about… _you_?"

Sakura clasps her hands over her ears, trying her best not to pay attention to Lycan's words as he continues to bombard her with his venomous logic. She looks down and begins to shiver. "No… You're wrong! Shut up! Li-kun _promised_! He _did_! He _does _care about me! I _know_ it!" she responds in a panic, all the while Lycan raises his mighty, clawed forelimb, causing Sakura to inch away further.

"To yield to the heart is to stray from reality," Lycan suggests. "Xiaolang knew this. If his promise cannot be trusted, neither can he. To you, all his words are but meaningless dust in the wind. You wish with all your heart that you could silence Xiaolang's lies…" As Sakura continues to back away, Lycan closes the gap between himself and his victim, leaning in further and further.

Sakura drops down to her knees as she throws her arms over her head, desperately taking cover from Lycan's piercing words. "Shut up! Li-kun means well, he really does! Kero-chan! Li-kun! Somebody! Help!" Sakura shrieks, trying to drown Lycan out. She begins to cry, falling on her hands and knees in the process. "I don't like this dream. I want to wake up. Kero-chan, wake me up. Please… Li-kun, I'm scared…" she begs hopelessly.

Lycan leans in one last time, close enough to whisper into Sakura's ear. "Heed the call within your own heart, Kinomoto Sakura," Lycan persuades. "End the cruel deceptions of Li Xiaolang… Kill him…" His message delivered, Lycan backs off, allowing Sakura to stew on his speech.

Sakura quivers at the lips, struggling to speak more coherently than a squeal. "Li-kun… you said you'd protect me… Why did I believe in you…?" she mutters in between distraught sniffles as a dual trail of tears runs down her face. She holds out her quivering hands in a cupped formation. A small, solid form materializes in her hand and begins to glow a bright orange, well familiar to Sakura by now as the Elixir of Fire. "You left me all alone. I have no choice…" she whispers, pressing the beak of the bottle in with her thumbs.

Lycan backs away, his persuasion having taken the desired effect. "You know in your heart… that which must be done…" he rumbles with a deep, resonating whisper.

The Circle of Kaos appears below Sakura. With the bottle to the Elixir of Fire open, the sparkling energy leaks out and surrounds Sakura in a flaming cyclone. The energy of the Elixir of Fire consolidates in her heart as her body begins to emit steam and smoke.

Sakura now looks up, her tears vaporized right off her face. She turns a sarcastically mournful expression his way. "Nice try, Lycan. You really had me going there for a second. You should give yourself a pat on the back- no, wait… you can't be touched…" she taunts.

Lycan sneers back at Sakura. "Do not do _my _bidding. Accomplish your own will. Kill Li Xiaolang… NOW!" he orders calmly at first, but raising his already thunderous voice later.

Sakura turns away from Lycan. "Sorry, _Lycie-chan_, but I just can't do that yet. The little boy may be a nuisance sometimes, but he's my ticket to the rest of your Kaos Cards. So you see I can't kill him just yet. Not like there's anything _you_ can do about it…" she taunts.

"Oh really?" Lycan asks back.

From out of the dark void, long, thin strings shoot out and wrap tightly around Sakura's wrists and ankles. At first, the strings are loose, but in an instant, all four strings are stretched taught, causing Sakura to struggle back to avoid being pulled apart.

Sakura grins smugly at Lycan. "What's with these strings, Lycie-chan? Trying to kill me because I won't obey you? Or is poor Lycie-chan finding it a probwem to get awound my Ewicksir of Fire dat he gave me?" she responds with a mocking baby talk.

"Don't call me Lycie-chan," Lycan rumbles.

Sakura continues to hang suspended and stretched out by the strings around her arms and legs. "Well, you're the boss… Lycie-wanwan," she continues to mock.

A fifth string shoots out of the abyssal darkness, this one wrapping tightly around Sakura's neck, but is unable to wrap tightly enough to impede Sakura's breathing, much less to choke her.

"Ooh, so close too…" Sakura patronizes. "Y'know Lycie-wanwan, you're pretty spunky yourself. Maybe _you _should try to kill Li-kun," she taunts, remaining unfazed by Lycan's attempts at lacerating her.

The cord wrapped around Sakura's neck loosens and removes itself from Sakura's body.

"Anyone could _kill_ Xiaolang," Lycan begins, "…but only you can _hurt _him. And hurt him you shall…"

The fifth string that had retracted itself shoots right into Sakura's torso from behind, forcing even the elixir-empowered Kaos Captor to clench her eyes shut in pain. The string snakes its way deeper into Sakura's back until she eventually faints. After an orange flicker through Sakura's shut eyelids, the Elixir of Fire leaks out of Sakura's mouth like drool, consolidating back into the empty bottle on her bed, which seals shut when filled. The strings around Sakura's legs recede, and the strings around her arms gently lower her to her bed before retracting. The string in her back remains though, as Sakura lays unconscious, face-down on the bed.

Lycan glares with eager and sinister anticipation. "My Kaos Card ought to humble you, Kinomoto Sakura. I must admit, your bond with the Elixir of Fire is indeed incredible, to summon it to your aid like you did. Yes, my choice in you as a Card Captor of Kaos was a wise one." He shoots a glare out into a random direction, right into the empty darkness. "Hmph. Unlike Damien's selection…"

--

(Syaoran's room, before sunrise)

Syaoran wears a button-down dark green pajama top as he rests under his green bed sheets. Over on a counter opposite his bed rest his two new Kaos Cards, both inscribed with his name in Chinese characters. Syaoran tosses and turns under the sheets restlessly before finally throwing the sheets off and leaning up. He rolls up the right sleeve of his pajamas with considerable obstruction from the Inferno Crossbow. Finally revealing his right forearm, he confronts the source of his restlessness.

The Inferno Crossbow had sunk deep purple veins into Syaoran's arm, clearly visible even in the minimal light of his room from the moon outside. The crude device vibrates subtly, yet annoyingly. Syaoran tries desperately to scratch and claw at the ribcage-like bindings on the Inferno Crossbow with his left hand, but to no avail. The Inferno Crossbow begins to burn at Syaoran's skin like a chemical irritant, and Syaoran's scratching becomes even more desperate and aggravated as a consequence. Syaoran continues to tear at the skin on his arm until it is raw white, but the burning of the Inferno Crossbow persists. Syaoran continues to scratch harder and harder until his skin turns a tender red, and at last his fingernails break through his skin, drawing blood.

At the sight of his own blood, Syaoran stops his futile clawing and he holds up his left hand. The fingernails had been stained with the fresh blood of his arm, but with a return of Syaoran's attention to his right arm, he notices that his skin had healed over the scar. He stares at his right arm with curiosity.

"What are you?" Syaoran quietly asks the Inferno Crossbow, a trace of fear present in his voice. He reaches towards the device with his left hand, but stops as he realizes that the blood he had drawn onto his fingernails had also mysteriously disappeared.

Syaoran's eyes stray over to his backpack, tossed into a dark corner. 'I have to tell my mom about this in the morning. This is getting crazy. If I'm going to defeat all the Kaos Cards on my own, I'll need as much support as I can get,' he takes mental note of. Syaoran reclines back down onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. 'Well, maybe I don't need _that _much support… Sakura can't help me. In order for her to seal the Kaos Cards, she has to use the Elixir of Fire. I witnessed what it can do to her tonight, and it didn't even go _inside_ of her. I can't let that happen again because…'

Suddenly, Syaoran finds himself short of words in his mind. He closes his eyelids tightly as he slaps himself across the cheek with his right hand. 'Way to go, Syaoran. Now Sakura will remember the first time you held her cheek in your hand… when you hit her. There's no way she shares the same feelings as you now. Hope you're proud of yourself!' He continues repeatedly hitting himself in the face as atonement. Eventually, he grows tired of this and lays his arms down at his side.

Still unable to sleep, Syaoran's eyes stray over to his desk, where his two Kaos Cards lay face-up. Getting an idea, Syaoran throws himself out of bed and rolls up his right sleeve, once more exposing the Inferno Crossbow and causing the Circle of Kaos to appear before his feet. The circle follows Syaoran as he paces towards his Kaos Cards and recites the incantation along the way.

"Key hiding the Powers of the Inferno, show your true form before me. I, Xiaolang, command you under our contract…" he recites softly, raising his forearm over the Kaos Cards that he stands over. "Release," he commands in a whisper.

The Inferno Crossbow's wings whip out and the head of the crossbow rests itself over the back of Syaoran's hand. The beak of the crossbow glows orange and a skinny, orange bolt of energy forms along the spinal column.

Syaoran turns his right hand palm up as he taps the beak of the crossbow against the Plague Card. "Mar my skin with a sign, an eternal testament of my misdeed. Plague!" he commands with a forceful whisper.

The Plague Card reshapes its form into a green, palm-sized, limber tarantula with thin, long legs and black flame decals on its abdomen. Plague crawls onto Syaoran's hand and rests against his open right palm as it begins to burn at his skin like a cattle prod.

Syaoran grits his teeth through the pain, eventually biting the knuckles of his left fist to avoid screaming out or knocking away Plague before it had finished its task. Steam pours out of his palm, as does the smell of searing flesh. Syaoran grimaces in agony as he falls to his knees, the pain beginning to become unbearable. 'Suck it up!' Syaoran shouts to himself in his head. 'If Sakura will never forget what happened tonight, neither will you…'

At that thought, the burning in Syaoran's hand ceases as Plague lifts itself up out of his palm. Plague lets out a shrill squeak before re-forming into a Kaos Card once more. Syaoran stands to his feet and observes his smoldering palm. He nods at the burnt image he sees. "This'll do, Plague. This'll do," he says to the card. After neatly resetting the Plague Card next to the Chimera Card, Syaoran returns to his bed. Now exhausted for his magical expenditure, he reaches a point of sleep easily.

--

(Penguin Park; shortly after sunrise)

Syaoran sits stoically on the leftmost of the swings on the swing set, swaying back and forth only slightly and just barely clinging onto the chain links with his hands. He shivers slightly in the morning breeze, but he otherwise appears sleepily detached from his surroundings. He wears his winter jacket from his Tomoeda Elementary school uniform and a pair of baggy tan cargo pants. Least noticeably, he wears wrapped up white bandages over his right hand.

From afar off, Tomoyo notices Syaoran sitting and swinging slightly. She gradually paces closer and closer to him, but Syaoran shows no signs of acknowledgment. Tomoyo takes a seat on the swing to Syaoran's immediate right.

"Good morning, Li-kun," Tomoyo begins, but Syaoran continues to apparently ignore her. Nevertheless, Tomoyo continues. "You called and said that you wanted to talk about something important. Well?"

Syaoran lets out a deep sigh as he hunches forward. "Thanks for coming out here this early. I don't want any of this getting out. …I have a plan to defeat the rest of the Kaos Cards in one fell swoop."

Tomoyo turns her head in Syaoran's direction with intrigue. "You mean _all_ of them? For good?" She smiles widely. "Oh, this is great news! Wait until Sakura-chan hears about-"

"Don't tell her," Syaoran interrupts, shooting a cold glare in Tomoyo's direction. "…because I'm leaving Tomoeda."

Tomoyo's jaw drops. She grabs onto the chains of the swing to catch herself from the shock. "…What?"

Syaoran stares up at the dawn horizon. "I'm going to take the Kaos Cards and the Inferno Crossbow back to Hong Kong. From there, I'll protect them in secret, all by myself. If I can hold out until-"

"You're leaving?!" Tomoyo asks, still taken back in shock. "B-bu-bu-but what about Sakura-chan? Are you just going to leave her to die? I thought you-"

Syaoran hangs his head. "Please. She's _why _I'm skipping town," he interrupts. He holds up his bandaged right hand, staring into his palm. "I've lied to her and hurt her for the last time. I don't know what I was thinking, letting things get this far out of control. Because all those feelings that she thinks I'm feeling inside… that you think I'm feeling inside… even _Keroberos _thinks I'm feeling… there's nothing there."

"You mean that you don't…?" Tomoyo asks, perplexed.

Syaoran shakes his head. "That's why I've had such a hard time trying to tell her how I feel. It's because I really don't feel anything for her. And I don't want to hurt her. Leaving Tomoeda is really for the best."

"I highly doubt that…" Tomoyo mutters under her breath.

Syaoran glances at Tomoyo out the corner of his eye. "You _really _don't know what's going on here. If you did know, you wouldn't be so quick to judge my actions."

"Then say it already," Tomoyo asks coldly, getting Syaoran to turn his head in her direction. "I'm not going to breathe a word of this to Sakura-chan. It'd break her heart to hear what you're saying, and at least _I _care about how she feels. So you have nothing to worry about. Spill it then. What's going on that you have to leave?"

Syaoran stares up into the sky, rolling his eyes at Tomoyo's accusation with an irritated but brief groan. He pauses for a moment before beginning his explanation. "Yesterday, you asked me why there are only seven Kaos Cards in the story, but there were eight Kaos Cards in the museum. So I did a little further research on it. The reason is because, in the story, while there were four Kaos Cards of Despair, there were only three Kaos Cards of Destruction: Industry, Chimera, and Plague. All of them have been captured thus far, meaning that Damien, Guardian Beast of Destruction, has no Kaos Cards left under his jurisdiction. Or at least not any that he can use…"

"Are you talking about that 'Life' Card? The one Kaos Gin never finished?" Tomoyo asks, turning Syaoran's head.

Syaoran shrugs his shoulders. "Well, at least you pay attention. Anyway, as it was never completed, the Life Card was ironically unable to attain a sentient status. As such, it couldn't die like the essences of the other seven Kaos Cards. The Life Card does have just as much magic as the other seven Kaos Cards, but unlike other magic cards, it has no true form. Thus, without a true form, it has no influence, making the Life Card, for all intents and purposes, a magically-enchanted piece of paper. But if the legend of Kaos Gin is as accurate as it's proven itself to be so far, Lycan and Damien think that they only need to set a few scenarios into place in order to attempt to finish Kaos Gin's work on the Life Card…" Syaoran then pauses for a lengthy moment.

Tomoyo waves Syaoran on to continue. "Well? I'm listening. What are those scenarios?"

Syaoran sighs again. "The Life Card won't be able to sustain a true form without a successor Card Captor of Kaos to replace Kaos Gin. As such, the Kaos Cards all have to be captured by the new Card Captor of Kaos."

"But you and Sakura-chan both have Kaos Cards. Why do Lycan and Damien even need _two_ Card Captors of Kaos if Kaos Gin only needs _one_ successor?" Tomoyo interjects.

Syaoran shakes his head. "But they do need us both, because the second objective that has to be met is…" He pauses again, struggling to make the words come out of his mouth.

"The Life needs a true form?" Tomoyo hypothesizes aloud. At the contemplation of the very thought, Tomoyo's jaw drops and her voice falls dead silent.

Syaoran responds to Tomoyo's thunderous silence with a somber nod. Afterwards, he stands to his feet. "I'm going to be filling out the paperwork for transferring out of Tomoeda Elementary today. If all goes well, I'll be out of the country in no less than a week's time. I wouldn't worry about Kinomoto-san though if I were you. She'll be just fine. Things always work out fine for her, somehow. But I will ask that you not tell her this." He begins to pace off.

"Li-kun, I can see why you're doing this," Tomoyo responds. "But I can't in good conscience keep this secret from Sakura-chan. I promise that I won't tell her… but only if you tell her all of this yourself."

Syaoran stops right in his tracks and turns his head back in Tomoyo's direction.

Tomoyo shoots a cold stare back in Syaoran's direction. "If you truly don't care about Sakura-chan like I thought you did, prove it. Tell her. Break her heart, if you can…" she challenges.

Syaoran turns back to face Tomoyo slowly, contemplating her comment in the back of his mind. "Y'know what? No!" He holds up his bandaged right hand. "I've caused her enough suffering. The least I can do for her is to not involve her in this Kaos Card fiasco. But don't go thinking that means anything."

Tomoyo notices Syaoran's bandaged hand as he holds it up for display to her. "Li-kun, your hand. What happened to it? Did you get into a scrap with another Kaos Card last night or something?"

Syaoran lowers his arm, pulling his long sleeve over his bandages. "N-no, it wasn't a Kaos Card. At least not a new one anyway."

Tomoyo's eyes widen. "You didn't do that to _yourself, _did you?!" she asks in shock.

"And what if I did?" Syaoran snaps. "I- I had to."

"Li-kun, nobody is _forcing _you to hurt yourself," Tomoyo responds. She pauses amidst an awkward silence before piping up again. "Did you feel guilty about Sakura-chan?"

"Shut up," Syaoran mutters with a calm, bottled fury.

Tomoyo cracks a subtle, mostly inward smile. "Thought so."

Syaoran grumbles about, muttering angrily under his breath. "What's all this to you, anyway?!" Syaoran snaps, turning away and folding his arms.

Tomoyo pulls herself to a standing position and paces over to Syaoran's side. "It's because I care about Sakura-chan, too. And I'd like nothing more than for her to be happy. It's really a shame, then, that you don't realize how happy she is when you're around to protect her. But, if you make her happy, that makes me happy too."

Syaoran reaches suddenly towards his right wrist. He sneers at Tomoyo out the corner of his eye. "Get a life, Daidouji-san!" he shouts before storming off in a dead run.

Tomoyo reaches after Syaoran, but after a single step of pursuit, she lets Syaoran get away. Tomoyo again smiles inwardly. 'I'm not worried, Li-kun. You know what's going on. And as much as you want these Kaos Cards defeated, I _know _that you won't be able to hurt Sakura-chan's feelings to do it. If only you could see why…' Tomoyo turns around to the swing set, but almost falls over at the sight before her.

Calmly and uprightly perched on the topmost bar of the swing set, Damien stands silently with folded arms and open wings. His tail curls loosely around the bars of the swing set as it otherwise hangs loose. He stares off with squinted, narrow-pupil eyes, to a barely visible Syaoran in the distance, hardly paying any attention to Tomoyo at all.

Tomoyo regains her balance as she begins to shuffle her feet backwards in a very slow attempt at escape, attempting to go unnoticed by the monstrous Guardian Beast. But in the midst of this less-than-hasty retreat, she trips over a cracked, misaligned slab of sidewalk, sending her landing on her rear.

Damien turns his gaze lower, immediately in front of him. Disentangling himself from the swing set, he bounds up with a mighty leap before majestically floating down in front of a stumbled Tomoyo like a malign angel. He stoops down onto a knee and gently holds out his claw, eliciting a mixed reaction from the fallen Tomoyo.

"Get up," Damien mutters calmly.

Tomoyo's eyes remain open at the coy gesture of courtesy from such an intimidating, inhuman creature. She nervously places a hand on one of Damien's bulky fingers and pulls herself to a standing position, keeping her eyes fixed with his the whole time.

Damien stares at Tomoyo, as his monster-like eyes betray his rational, calm actions and speech. "That look… I recognize your fear. I've seen it all too often before, by all who look upon this corrupted shell. You look at me in horror, expecting me to be a monster, just for the way I appear."

Tomoyo nods in compliance. "That, and you forced the Inferno Crossbow onto Li-kun when he didn't even want it," she responds softly, trying not to raise her voice. She exchanges stares with Damien for a long while before mustering up the courage to speak again. "W-w-what are you doing here, anyway?" she asks.

Damien stands to his full, superhuman height. "What am _I _doing here? Why, the same as you. To watch the Little Wolf, and to hear what he has to say. He is a very interesting human indeed, to say the least."

"Are you here to fight?" Tomoyo asks nervously, beginning to back away again, this time peeking over her shoulders every so often. 

Damien sneers at Tomoyo, freezing her in place. "Again with your assumptions. The Little Wolf told you that I have no more Kaos Cards left, yet you run from me. In your fear, you betray the impeccable wisdom that you have for your age. Why?"

Tomoyo modestly bows her head at Damien's compliment. "Because Li-kun told me that you and Lycan are going to hurt Sakura-chan…"

Damien scoffs. "Yet more hearsay. I dare not kill either of the Card Captors of Kaos, because _I _appear to be the only one who knows what's going on. Don't tell me, the Little Wolf reached his little epiphany based off something _Lycan_ said or did. Typical. We Guardians and Cards of Kaos may have been corrupted when Reed eliminated our master, but our devices are more complex than merely the wanton obliteration of your species. After all, human extinction won't bring him back…" he drones, staring into the sky.

"Fair enough," Tomoyo answers, nervously nodding her head as she begins to comprehend Damien's motives. "Enlighten me then. If you're not going to kill Sakura-chan, what _are _you planning to do?" Tomoyo asks.

Damien shakes his head. "Sorry, can't spoil the big surprise. The Little Wolf and the Cherry Blossom are going to have to figure it out for themselves. But something I _will _tell you is that if your friends think that the ultimate objective of the Kaos Cards is to kill _either _of them, they're way off. Make sure they understand _that_." Damien crouches low and stretches wide his wings before jumping high into the air and taking off like a rocket, leaving a warm gust and a low cloud of dust in his wake.

Tomoyo covers her head, her hair whipping about in the wind. After the wind dies down, she raises her head and looks around frantically, finding no trace of Damien whatsoever.

"How strange…" she utters.

--

(Syaoran's apartment, later that morning)

Syaoran quickly storms through the door and slams it behind him, disappearing once again as quickly as he came in, heading straight for his room. Just noticing the ruckus, Wei sticks his head out of the kitchen and looks around the living room for Syaoran, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh… Syaoran-sama? How was your walk?" Wei asks, dumbfounded.

Syaoran ignores Wei. His back leans against the shut door of his room from the inside as he slowly slides down to a slouched back sitting posture, resting his shoulders against the door and otherwise letting his entire body hang limp.

'Daidouji-san thinks she knows _everything_… She thinks I have feelings for Sa- …Kinomoto-san… Well I _don't_. And I'll prove it too. I'm going to march straight to Kinomoto-san's house and tell her myself. She'll cry a river, but what do I care? She's _always _fine in the end, no matter what…' Syaoran thinks to himself cynically.

A thought crosses through Syaoran's mind as he can imagine Tomoyo's response.

"Li-kun, the reason that Sakura-chan is always okay is because she knows you're not going to let anything happen to her. Don't-"

Syaoran leans up and furiously shakes his head back and forth, scrambling his thoughts and cutting off the imaginary rebuttal from Tomoyo. "That's not it!" he shouts.

The Inferno Crossbow on Syaoran's arm begins to pulsate like a heartbeat. Syaoran, considerably irritated, rolls up his right sleeve, and at seeing the device, the heartbeats became more audible. Syaoran holds his right hand to his chest, realizing that the Inferno Crossbow was merely mimicking his own already raised heartbeat.

'The Inferno Crossbow is flaring up again. Why? It obeys my thoughts, it mimics my heartbeat, it burns my skin… it's like it has a mind of its own…' Syaoran hypothesizes, holding up the upside-down face of the Inferno Crossbow and staring it straight in the eye sockets. "Smarty-pants…" he mutters, letting his arm flop to his side. "Even this demonic parasite thinks I _care _about Kinomoto-san."

Syaoran stands up and paces over towards his backpack, grabbing it and taking it over to his bed, where he takes a seat. 'I can just call her up… No, I have to do this face-to-face! If staring her straight in her eyes with steel stoicism doesn't get my point across, nothing will!' Syaoran opens up his backpack. He sits still for a few moments after opening his backpack up.

'…those pretty emerald eyes…' he ponders.

"Did I just say pretty?" he asks himself, coming to his senses. He shakes his head back and forth, trying to shake himself from his rattled equilibrium. He reaches into his backpack and carefully pulls out a pair of Kaos Cards, holding them up in his bandaged right hand.

'I could use Chimera to give me the skin of a chameleon, so that I can sneak into Kinomoto-san's room and steal her Kaos Cards- …no, wait. I can't take her Kaos Cards away from her. Not because I feel anything mushy in the pit of my soul, but because it's illogical. She'll be able to protect those Kaos Cards that have fallen under her jurisdiction, and those that will. I only need to prevent the Kaos Cards from being in one location at a time.'

Syaoran stares out his window, at a pigeon perched on the edge of his balcony. The pigeon coos erratically before flying off. After the bird flies out of sight, Syaoran flops over on his bed weakly.

'It's really too bad that I don't have the magic to sustain the Chimera Card long enough to turn into a bird and just fly. Fly away, as far and as fast as I can. Away from Tomoeda. Away from the Kaos Cards. Away from destiny. Away from… _this_.' Syaoran wearily lets his eyelids close shut. "Away from _her_," he thinks aloud.

--

(Sakura's house, that morning) 

A lone phone on a small countertop in the middle of a yellow-colored hallway begins ringing with a lengthy electronic beeping sound. It continues to ring three more times in succession before at last a tall boy with black hair picks up the phone.

(Syaoran's end of the line)

Syaoran had dragged a telephone in from outside his room. The cable hangs under the door and leads out of the room entirely. Syaoran sits on the floor, limply leaning against the door, patiently awaiting an answer with his head hung shamefully.

'I'm such a coward…' Syaoran thinks to himself, but suddenly the voice on the other end of the phone causes him to nearly jump off the floor in a single bound.

"_Good morning._ _Kinomoto residence…_" a voice sounding like Toya's voice answers from the other end of the phone.

On Syaoran's end of the line, he clamps his right hand over the phone's receiver. 'Darnit! It's after 8:00 in the morning, and she's still not up yet?! Somebody's getting back into the school spirit I see…' Syaoran ponders, a why-am-I-not-surprised expression all over him.

"_Hello?_" Toya asks impatiently from the other end of the phone.

--

(Toya's end of the line)

Toya taps the phone speaker with his finger. "Hey, if this is some kind of joke…" he threatens into the receiver, but his eyes are pulled over to the caller ID device on the table. He notices as the LCD screen lists out the source of the call as from a room in an apartment complex. Thinking the call source over in his mind, he holds the phone up to the side of his head. Toya sighs before responding.

"Alright, what do you want… _gaki_?" Toya asks snidely, stressing heavily on the last word.

At listening closely to the receiver, he can hear muffled grunts in the background.

--

(Syaoran's end of the line)

"Why did _he _have to pick up the phone?!" Syaoran quietly fumes to himself, his hand still clasped over the receiver.

"_Hey, don't go running up our phone bill over there! I know where you live, gaki!_" Toya shouts back, causing Syaoran to flinch away from the receiver.

Syaoran nervously holds up the phone. "Ki-kino-kinomoto…" he stutters.

--

(Toya's end of the line)

Toya leers at the phone. "You want to talk to my sister? Well I can't help but say that I'm not surprised. She seems to be a really popular little kaiju nowadays…" Toya says back into the phone.

--

(Syaoran's end of the line)

Syaoran sits up sternly, Toya's last comment seemingly having struck a nerve. "Don't You EVER… call her a monster…" he blurts out sternly, momentarily forgetting whom he was speaking to. Fortunately for him, Toya didn't seem to be responding to that last comment, but Syaoran can barely hear a muffled bickering in the background.

--

(Toya's end of the line)

Toya holds the phone up high, mercilessly taunting his much shorter little sister, forcing her to jump high to even reach the phone.

"Big Brother! Gimmie that phone! And for the last time, I'm not a monster!" Sakura insists, however doing little to sway Toya to give her the phone.

Sakura still wears her pink pajamas and has yet to change out of them, despite the lateness of the morning and the fact that she had worn them for nearly a straight day. Sakura crouches low before springing up after the phone as she continues to hopelessly beg her brother for the phone.

Eventually, Toya tires of this and tosses the phone straight into the air and walks off. Sakura gets under the falling phone and fiddles with it clumsily, trying to get a grip on it. She puts the receiver up to her ear, but before she can speak, a reply comes from the other end of the line with a volume that causes her to pull her head away.

--

(Syaoran's end of the line)

Bubbling over with anger after Toya's seeming torment of Sakura, he holds up the phone receiver right in front of his face, though not knowing Sakura to be on the other end of the line…

"Well y'know what I think?! I think you can just shove it and shut up! It's not like I _like _her or anything, and I don't know _where_ you'd get such a _stupid_ idea like that!" Syaoran snaps.

--

(Sakura's end of the line)

Sakura freezes up, her eyes glazing over after Syaoran's last response.

--

(Syaoran's end of the line)

"_Li-kun?_" a meek voice answers back from the other end of the phone.

Syaoran turns a bright, humiliating red as he clasps his hand over his mouth.

"_Li-kun? Who were you talking about?_" Sakura probes.

--

(Sakura's end of the line)

"_Sakur- uh- Kinomoto-san? I-I-I didn't mean that! Your brother just pushed my buttons, I swear! I'm sorry! Kinomoto-san? Kinomoto-san!_" Syaoran desperately attempts to repent.

Sakura limply lowers her arm to her side, her mind racing a mile a minute, while Syaoran continues to spurt off vain atonement after vain atonement on the other end. Tears well up in Sakura's eyes. She forcefully slams the phone on the receiver. She quickly storms down the hall and to her room. She swings the door open powerfully, almost ripping it off its hinges, before slamming it shut behind her with a loud crash.

--

(Syaoran's end of the line)

"Kinomoto-san? Kinomoto-san!" Syaoran continues to call out into the receiver, but is answered back by a dial tone. Syaoran eventually ceases his calling and falls to his knees in sorrow. He hangs up the phone gently and hunches over.

"Sakura…" Syaoran mutters. He remains motionless for a long moment, revisiting the phone call in his mind, but replaying the conversation with endless amounts of different scenarios. All of a sudden, Syaoran feels a sensation come over him that he had never known before, akin to a punch in the stomach, leaving him suddenly winded. He sniffles.

"No, this can't be happening… What has she done to me to make me want to… to…?" Syaoran mutters to himself, catching himself from making a scene, but still reluctantly rubbing his eye with his left wrist. "I'm Li Xiaolang, the youngest generation of the most powerful sorcerers in the world. And on top of that, I'm a Card Captor of Kaos. I am _powerful_. I am _logical_. I am _self-sufficient_. I don't cry, and especially not over some _girl_. Lis do _not _cry. Card Captors of Kaos _do not blubber like babies!_ _They don't!_" Syaoran insists to himself, pounding his fists against the floor while fighting off the accumulating moisture in his eye sockets and breathing heavily.

--

(Sakura's room)

Sakura storms into her room, slamming the door behind her and throwing herself over her bed. She grabs a pillow from further up her bed and buries her face in it, bawling her eyes out.

This scene alerts the attention of the golden-furred Guardian Beast, who was, until just a second ago, staring out the window. Kero flutters over Sakura's shoulder and gently pats Sakura on the back of her head, but her crying continues.

"Sakura? What was that all about? Who called you? What'd they say?" Kero asks urgently, like a probing older sibling.

"Li-kun didn't mean that! He didn't mean any of it! He wouldn't say such horrible things!" Sakura shouts through her pillow.

"The kozo?" Kero asks, confirming Syaoran as the source of Sakura's current state of sadness. "Hmmm… why am I not surprised?" he asks himself, floating in mid-air and folding his arms crossly.

Sakura briefly lifts her head out of the pillow. "Kero-chan, Lycan was right!" she bawls, reapplying her face to the groove she wore into the pillow.

"Lycan?!" Kero exclaims in shock, but he has no further time to react as he lets his body plummet limply next to Sakura's head as the door creaks open quickly.

"Sakura!" Toya shouts, popping his head in. He lets himself in and kneels right next to his distraught little sister. "What did that gaki say to you? I'll kill him!" he exclaims, grabbing Sakura forcefully by the shoulder. He prepares to storm off, but he can feel Sakura's weak grip around his finger. He turns back to see Sakura looking up at him with damp eyes, but otherwise maintaining some sort of composure.

"Don't," Sakura whispers to Toya. "Li-kun didn't mean it… I _know_ him… It _must _be a misunderstanding…"

Toya tugs his hand out of Sakura's grip, much to further his sister's chagrin, and he cracks his knuckles with anticipation as he turns towards the open door. "Whatever it was, I'm gonna' hunt him down and kick his over-privileged Chinese-"

"Big Brother, you kaiju!" Sakura fires back, interrupting Toya's rant. Sakura stands fully to her feet, holding up her fists in desperation to convince Toya. "Don't hurt Li-kun. There's no way he meant whatever he said."

Toya turns around, to face Sakura. "Why are you're sticking up for _him_ after whatever he said?" he asks, beginning to grow in irritation. Sakura remains silent, yet Toya probes into Sakura's eyes, penetrating right to her very core in order to deduce the answer he was looking for. "I see…" he turns away and leaves.

Sakura follows Toya to the door, and Toya proceeds further down the hallway. "That's right!" Sakura shouts at Toya before slamming the door shut.

At the slam of the door, Kero loosens up the tension in his body for posing as a stuffed animal whenever Toya is around. He releases a deeply relieved sigh. "Sakura, you were saying something about Lycan being right about something. Did I hear you correctly about that?" Kero asks, floating up over Sakura's shoulder.

Sakura still stands in front of her door, taking several deep breaths before answering Kero. "Last night, in my dream, Lycan appeared to me again. He said that Li-kun really didn't care about me. And on the phone, Li-kun said that he didn't care about someone. Big Brother was talking about me. So I thought that Li-kun didn't care about me, and it was stupid of me to think he did…"

Kero perches onto Sakura's shoulder, considering that which Sakura had told him about her dream. "So… Lycan appeared… to try and split you and the kozo up? Hmm… I really don't know. I've heard Lycan go on a rant before. Something about that dream of yours just strikes me as not his style," Kero deliberates.

"Kero-chan…" Sakura continues, pacing over towards her closet and opening it up. "Lycan told me to kill him. And not only that, but when I realized that he supposedly really didn't like me at all, I'd want to kill him. That's why I'm trying so hard not to wish Li-kun ill." Sakura reaches into her closet and pulls out a long-sleeved, blue sweater.

"Is it because you like him?" Kero follows up.

Sakura's cheeks quickly turn a bright tomato red. "Kero-chan…" Sakura replies with a soft outrage, pulling the sweater up to conceal her blush. After a moment, she begins to slowly lower the sweater away.

"I hope so…" Sakura replies at last, cracking a hopeful smile.

--

(a dark void)

A deep-throated and long-winded cackling emanates from the blackness of the void itself. Lycan's mask takes shape in the midst of the shade, along with the rest of his sleek, nearly invisible form.

"Who would have ever thought that that _witless_ Damien's _worthless_ Kaos Captor could cooperate so _perfectly_ with my plan? It's almost too perfect…" Lycan thinks aloud.

"Lycan!" an urgent, human-sounding voice shouts out from a far distance, interrupting Lycan's rant. "Lycan!" the voice calls again, only closer this time.

"So the fool comes… T'was only a matter of time… meh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…" Lycan mutters.

A flicker of flame appears behind Lycan as Damien materializes behind Lycan. He appears from on one knee and he quickly stands to an aggressive posture.

"You could not hide from me forever, Guardian of Destruction," Lycan snarls, turning his morbid mask right in Damien's direction.

Damien stares back unfazed at Lycan's nightmarish form. "This is insanity, Lycan. What are you doing with the Cherry Blossom?"

Lycan turns away from Damien. "You declare me insane, and _then _ask of my plan? Oh, great is your passion, Damien. Great, indeed… is your handicap…"

Damien swings his arm back furiously. "Lycan! Quit talking in riddles! What are you up to?"

"Payback," Lycan answers monotonously. "You took a cheap shot at _my _Card Captor. I'm simply returning the favor. We only need one of them, after all."

"_Payback? Your _Card Captor?" Damien retorts in outrage. "If you're referring to Plague, I did what was necessary to ensure the strengthening of _Master Kaos's _Card Captor, not yours, and not mine," he adds, pointing at Lycan accusatively. "…And we _do_ need them both alive. Or have you forgotten already?" Damien reminds.

"Correction," Lycan begins. "We only need one of them _alive_…" Lycan concludes suggestively.

Damien shakes his head in disgust. "Is this really the will of Kaos? Are we _killers_, Lycan? Was the Master a killer?"

"If we have to kill, we shall…" Lycan responds ominously.

"Then I take it you _must _have a good reason to kill the Little Wolf…" Damien reasons. "…So why? Is it just to get back at me?" Damien accuses with great hostility.

"You seem to forget whom you are speaking to…" Lycan says before vanishing into the darkness, causing Damien to look around anxiously. After Damien had skimmed through the darkness with his eyes, a pair of enormous red eyes appears before him, sending him staggering backwards in horror.

"I am Lycan, the Guardian Beast of Despair! My ends _always _justify my means. And right now, my ends remain as they always were: to induce Despair. And right now, the despair is _yours_, Guardian of Destruction. So come forth and stop me if you are able, feeble creature! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Lycan rants loudly before the giant red eyes close and vanish from the darkness. The echoes of Lycan's laughter resonate through the void, causing Damien to stare about uncertain and afraid.

"Grr… Lycan, you're mad! I'll stop you, Lycan, if it takes the last ounce of my being to do it!" Damien shouts out, hoping vainly for Lycan to hear his futile declaration.


	7. 6 A Duality of Despair pt I

Chapter 6: A Duality of Despair (Part I)

Lycan struts about quickly in his dark, infinite abode of nothingness, almost in a gallop.

"No one knows how powerful you are, Lycan. There will always be Guardians. Keroberos. Yue. Damien. No… you, Lycan… you are a special Guardian. There is none with your power…" a whisper emanates out from the cavernous emptiness itself.

Lycan stops his pacing, looking around in an unusual perplexity for him. "It's you again…" Lycan responds with familiarity, for once being dwarfed in comparison of the void about him. "You spoke to me before, when I counseled Kinomoto Sakura. Cease your hiding and show yourself to me."

"The tables have turned, my pet…" the darkness replies.

Lycan scoffs, staring down at his paws. "Hmph! None can cause despair to _me_. And for the last time, I am _no one's_ pet…" Lycan's gaze rises up to the dark sky in reverence. "You should know better. After all… you created me."

The darkness grows silent. Lycan squints suspiciously after several moments of this silence.

"If you appear out of nowhere and say 'gotcha', I'll rip you six ways from Sunday… literally," Lycan threatens sternly.

The darkness chuckles in a deep, somewhat amused tone at Lycan's comment. "I assure you, that won't be necessary, Guardian of Despair… Now follow through with your mission. Finish what you started with the Kinomoto girl."

Lycan droops his head in humility to his unseen master. "Understood, Lord Kaos…"

--

(Penguin Park; shortly after 9 AM)

A couple of very young boys stand in an open, paved area of the Penguin Park, standing several feet apart from each other and tossing a sizable red rubber ball back and forth between themselves. A middle-aged woman, presumably their mother, sits on a nearby bench, reading over a newspaper while simultaneously keeping a close eye on the two boys.

After catching the ball, one of the boys takes several steps backwards, heading towards the wooded areas around the park, preparing for a long throw. The other boy backs up as well, closing in on the King Penguin slide / statue. The first boy hurls the red ball high into the air, soaring right over the other boy's head despite his valiant attempt to jump and catch the ball. The ball bounces a few times before rolling right under the archways of the King Penguin slide, but fails to roll out the other side.

The boy closest to the slide heads curiously close to the slide's archways, followed in hot pursuit by the second boy. The closer they get to the King Penguin, the slower and more cautiously they approach. This causes their mother to look on with more caution.

All of a sudden, like a bullet, the red ball shoots out from the archway, zipping right past the two boys and heading straight into the woods. The ball smashes into a tree with a loud crash, snapping the foot-thick tree trunk in half and sending the tree plummeting down. The mother jumps right out of her seat as the tree lands right beside the bench. The two boys look on in awe, but in different directions. One of the boys runs over to the tree. The other boy ducks under the penguin slide to see what could propel the ball quite like that.

The boy ducks his head under the shade of the giant slide in the center of the park and turns his head to the immediate left. Right on his left, he sees a short-haired girl sitting right in the corner, her head buried in her knees. Her auburn hair appears jet black in the shade under the slide. She wears long blue jeans and a light blue wool sweater with sleeves that run all the way up to her palms. The boy can only stare at the kneeling girl, trying to figure out why she appears so sad.

The girl raises her head, smiling coyly at the boy. Her hair sticks to her dried cheeks as her eyes stare back at the boy vacantly. As the boy begins to back away uncertainly, she begins to sing softly. "Hush, little baby… don't say a word…" she begins, holding up her closed right hand. She opens it slowly to reveal an empty, clear glass bottle shaped like a bird's skull. "…Momma's gonna'… buy you… a mocking… bird…" she continues eerily.

The boy stares closer and closer at the bird-shaped bottle in the girl's hand before it suddenly springs to life and shrieks out with a shrill voice. The boy screams loudly as he backs out from under the slide.

"AAAAAAAAGH! A ghost!!!" he cries out, stumbling away from the archway faster than he can get traction on the ground. He makes a beeline for the other boy and the mother over by the fallen tree, shouting the whole way.

"Mommy, there's a ghost under the slide! A ghost under the slide!" he screams, desperately clutching hold of his mother's dress, much to her surprise.

"Are you trying to go on with _another_ one of your lies?" the other boy accuses, beginning to walk towards the archway that his apparent brother ran from so fervently. "There's no such thing as ghosts," he claims, marching towards the King Penguin slide. Arriving at his destination, he pokes his head under the archway and finds nothing of any peculiarity, the girl that the other boy had seen not appearing under the slide at all. "I told you there wasn't a ghost there!" he shouts back at his brother.

The other boy stutters fearfully, pointing at the downed tree while clutching his mother's legs for dear life. "T-th-th-th… then what threw the ball?"

"Who cares?" his brother argues.

The second, more courageous brother heads into the woods to retrieve the ball he had been tossing around with his brother. The three leave the park as a small, flickering ember floats through the air behind them.

--

(Syaoran's room)

Syaoran wearily opens his eyes to feel a sharp ache in his side. As he opens his eyes wider, he notices his vision parallel to the floor. He lifts his head up off the floor and looks around himself, noticing that he is in his own room. As he picks himself up onto his knees, he places a hand on his sore left ribs, the ones he had been laying on. He winces slightly as the feeling of needles punching into his side.

"How long have I been asleep?" he mutters softly to himself, not noticing the door behind him wide open, and his caretaker right behind him.

"Syaoran-sama-" Wei begins, startling Syaoran right to his feet.

Syaoran shoots an indignant glare up at Wei. "What ever happened to knocking?"

Wei bows in polite apology. "My humble apologies, Syaoran-sama. It's One O'clock in the afternoon, and I thought it would be a good time to wake you up."

"One?!" Syaoran shouts out of surprise. "Why didn't you wake me sooner? Why'd you let me fall asleep in the first place?"

Wei kneels down to eye-level with Syaoran. "I wanted to give you some time for yourself today. Nothing else of significance was happening until recently."

Syaoran leans in closer towards Wei. "What happened?" he interrogates boldly.

Wei shows Syaoran the phone that he had put back on the counter after Syaoran had taken it into his room. "A friend from school called and asked to talk to you."

Syaoran freezes stiffly at the thought of who Wei might have been referring to.

Wei places a finger on his chin as he stares up. "I don't know who it was off the top of my head. I know it wasn't Sakura-sama or Tomoyo-sama because I remembered not recognizing her voice off the top of my head. I want to say something like… Mihara-san?"

"Huh?" Syaoran asks, scratching his head at first. "Mihara Chiharu-san?"

Wei nods immediately. "Yes, that was it. She called just a few minutes ago and wanted to speak to you about something."

Syaoran breathes a deep sigh of relief. "Finally, something _normal _is going on…"

--

(a moment later, at the phone) 

Syaoran had pulled up a chair to the phone as he holds the receiver up to the end. He hears a beep in the speaker as he taps his feet against the ground impatiently.

"Pick up…" he mutters into the receiver.

"_Hello? Mihara Chiharu here,_" a young girl's voice responds.

"Mihara-san!" Syaoran greets sternly.

"_Li-kun? Hey, Li-kun! __Yamazaki-kun and I haven't heard from you all vacation. So how has your summer been? Done anything interesting lately?_" Chiharu asks energetically.

Syaoran hangs his head and sighs. "You don't want to know…" he warns. "My caretaker tells me that you called earlier. Well, what do you want?" he asks bluntly.

"_Li-kun, I don't want to startle you or anything, but… Have you seen Sakura-chan lately?_" Chiharu asks ominously, sending Syaoran's eyes soaring wide open.

Syaoran's shock appears permanently affixed to his face as he holds up the phone again. "Possibly. Why? Did something happen to her?" he asks with a calmness that betrays his facial expression.

"_I'm not really sure… Yamazaki-kun told me that his cousins were playing in the park, near the King Penguin, and one of them saw her there, under the King Penguin slide. But, from what I heard, Sakura didn't sound like she was feeling very well. Have you heard from her?_ _Because I haven't heard anything from her lately at all..._"

Syaoran stares off into space as Chiharu retells the story as far as she had been told. Syaoran holds up the phone for a long moment, thinking of what to say.

"_Li-kun, are you still there? Did you hear all that?_" Chiharu asks.

Syaoran holds the receiver up to his mouth. "I'll talk to her. Thanks," he says before slowly hanging the phone up.

'So much for something normal going on…' Syaoran thinks to himself.

--

(Penguin Park)

Syaoran stands near the fallen tree that still lay over the sidewalk of Penguin Park. Beside him, Tomoyo holds up her camcorder, studying the fallen tree trunk curiously while taking still shots with her camera. Syaoran and Tomoyo are dressed the same way that they were earlier that day, only Syaoran had swapped out the huge, bulky jacket for a blue, long-sleeved jean jacket.

"And you think Sakura-chan did this?" Tomoyo asks, kneeling down to get some up-close shots of the shattered tree trunk.

Syaoran surveys the area and nods his head. "Yeah. A tree with this thickness doesn't just fall over on its own. Something hit this tree. Hard."

Tomoyo lowers her camera and looks up towards Syaoran's direction. "But why would Sakura-chan knock over a tree? What could she possibly get so mad about?" she asks, utterly perplexed.

Syaoran stares down at the ground, as his guilty memories return to him in full, causing his stomach to churn. "Uh… remember earlier this morning when you told me to tell Sakura how I felt… if I could?"

Tomoyo lowers her jaw as she stands to her feet. "Li-kun… oh dear, you _didn't_… did you?" she begins, nodding her head back and forth in denial.

"Hey, it was an accident!" Syaoran insists fiercely.

"An accident?!" Tomoyo asks skeptically. "And how, might I ask, did you _accidentally_ crush Sakura-chan's precious, fragile soul? Did you happen to give the _slightest_ forethought that you mean the world to her?!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Syaoran shoots back. He runs his fingers through his hair with frustration, grabbing at locks of his hair to tear at them. "What did I even call you out here for, anyway?"

"Because _someone _has to care about what happens to Sakura-chan," Tomoyo snipes.

In the midst of mounting a comeback, Syaoran stares down Tomoyo with a furious, appalled look in his eye, poorly masking a hidden wound that Tomoyo had ripped open. All of a sudden, he finds himself short of words.

Tomoyo's mind catches up with her speech as she begins to realize how badly she had burned Syaoran. She regretfully places a hand over her mouth. "Li-kun, I'm sorry I said that…" she says, reaching cautiously out to place a hand on Syaoran's shoulder, only to have him slap her hand away.

"When I told her…" Syaoran begins meekly. "…i-it just slipped out. I called her on the phone… I was gonna' set up a meeting place so that I could talk to her in private… to tell her that I like her… but I got her brother on the other end instead. He… he just pushed my buttons. So I fired back off at him. What I didn't know was that… that he must've handed Sakura the phone at some point. …I thought I was yelling at her brother when I mentioned… y'know…" Syaoran places a hand on his jaw, allowing the sleeve of his jacket to slip down, revealing the tip of the Inferno Crossbow on his barely exposed wrist. "When I figured out what I said to her… I-I… I cried. I cried myself to sleep. I must've cried for hours, because the next thing I knew, it was the early afternoon."

Tomoyo notices the exposed tip of the Inferno Crossbow latched to his wrist. She hangs her head in understanding. "These Kaos Cards bring out the worst in all of us, don't they, Li-kun?" she asks gently.

Syaoran punches his palm amidst his shivering. "All the more reason to destroy them as soon as possible," he vows solemnly.

"It's okay…" a voice whispers in the wind, catching Syaoran's and Tomoyo's attentions.

"It's alright…" the voice adds.

Syaoran looks around, trying to find the source of the voice. He strikes a fighting stance as he looks around. "Did you hear that too, or was it just me?" he asks nervously, tensing up and preparing for something.

Tomoyo aims her camera all around her, hoping to use it as some sort of telescope to find the source of the voice. "I heard it too. The 'it's okay, it's alright' voice."

"Where's it coming from?" Syaoran asks, turning his back to the woods.

Tomoyo turns her camera towards the forest. "I don't know…" she answers uncertainly before lowering her camera and shrieking loudly at the sight before her. Syaoran also turns about quickly to see the source of the voice.

It was Sakura. She stands in a deep area of the woods. Her hair appears much darker than its usually rich auburn, presumably because of the low light in the woods. She wears a light blue wool turtleneck sweater with the collar pulled up past her upper lip. She also wears a pair of blue jeans. Her footwear cannot be determined from their current position.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo calls out, running into the woods before feeling a tug at her arm.

Syaoran holds Tomoyo back from storming into the woods. "Be careful."

Tomoyo stares over at Sakura, examining her unorthodox wardrobe choice. "Interesting choice of clothes. Personally I think I could've done something better with the whole blue theme-" she examines with her fashion designer's mind before Syaoran shushes her.

"Not now," Syaoran warns.

Sakura stares at the two and raises a hand to pull down the collar of the turtleneck. "It's okay… she says to the two, reaching out towards them. "Come closer…" she asks.

Syaoran stares at Sakura skeptically. "No. How about _you _come out _here _instead?" he asks.

Sakura raises both her arms. "Come here. I want to show you something. In the woods," she requests calmly. "Something _amazing_…" she drones on.

Syaoran puts out one arm protectively in front of Tomoyo, but holds this arm up weakly. "What? What is it?" he asks.

"Come here…" Sakura beckons. "I'll show you."

Syaoran looks back at Tomoyo. "Stay behind me. If anything happens, get back to the King Penguin and I'll meet you there. Whatever you do, don't look back, and don't wait for me."

Tomoyo nods nervously as she follows Syaoran into the woods.

Sakura holds her arms open and paces towards Syaoran and Tomoyo. At seeing this, Syaoran puts his arm up and stops walking forward, holding Tomoyo back. Sakura also stops advancing forward.

Sakura's expression turns even sadder as she lets her arms fall to her sides. "Li-kun, Tomoyo-chan, what's wrong? Don't you want to see my surprise?"

"What is this surprise anyway?" Syaoran calls out towards Sakura.

Sakura pulls her arms close to her body and hops up and down giddily. "It's great, Li-kun, just great! I _know _you'll love it! Won't you come see? Pretty please, Li-kun?" she asks with a sugary sweetness.

Syaoran and Tomoyo stare at each other and shrug simultaneously.

"Well…" Syaoran begins. "…if that doesn't prove it, I don't know what will." He lowers his arm and paces towards Sakura. Sakura, in turn, paces towards him. Their pace proceeds into a jog, then a run. As they come right in front of each other, they both come to a screeching halt as they are both a few inches from each other's faces.

Sakura stares into Syaoran's widely open, slightly watery eyes. He wears a mask of red over his cheeks, completely overpowering the paleness of his skin.

Syaoran stares into Sakura's eyes as well, seeing an eager perkiness more at home on her face than the demented looks that his mind had been haunted with when considering the effects the Elixir of Fire had on her. The dark tone of her hair persists in the thick shades of the trees, but otherwise she appears normal. Syaoran reaches out towards Sakura and places his hands on her shoulders, causing Sakura to look down and blush. Syaoran quickly pulls Sakura close in a tight hug, intensifying both their blushes.

"Sakura, I'm so glad you're okay…" Syaoran whispers into Sakura's ear.

"Don't worry, Li-kun, I'm better than okay…" Sakura responds.

Tomoyo stands at the side, having finally caught up with Syaoran, and witnesses the heart-warming reunion of the young couple. She quickly whips out her camera and aims it at Sakura and Syaoran, but she almost immediately lowers it, rubbing her eyes sorely and wearing a confused expression.

Syaoran gently pets Sakura's hair. "Sakura, I'm sorry about all those things I said to you. I didn't-"

"Shhhh…" Sakura shushes, hugging Syaoran back and resting her head on his shoulder. "You don't have to say anything, Li-kun. None of that stuff matters anymore. Everything is alright now."

Tomoyo pulls Syaoran right out of his warm hug with Sakura, yanking him by the arm and dragging him urgently behind a tree. Sakura's eyes widen as Syaoran is pulled right out of her grip.

"Li-kun, what's wrong?" Sakura asks, holding her arms open wide.

Syaoran's eyes open wide in outrage as Tomoyo pulls him behind a thick tree trunk. "What? What is it?!" Syaoran whispers forcefully.

Tomoyo cups her hands over Syaoran's ear. "Something is wrong with Sakura-chan. She doesn't photograph!"

Syaoran raises an eyebrow at Tomoyo's observation before returning his gaze to Sakura, who eagerly stares back.

"Li-kun, what's wrong?" Sakura asks peculiarly.

Syaoran shakes his head. "What do you mean by 'doesn't photograph'?" he whispers. "You're not gonna' go on a rant about how she's not dressed like some kind of exuberant harlequin when on film, are you?"

"I prefer the term 'fashionable harlequin', thank you very much," Tomoyo whispers back. "But that's not the point. It's not like she doesn't photograph _well, _but she literally doesn't photograph at all! I point the camera at her and I can't see her!" Tomoyo whispers urgently.

"What? You mean like a ghost or something?" Syaoran asks quietly.

"Li-kun?" Sakura asks suddenly, popping right around the corner and causing Syaoran and Tomoyo to nearly jump right out of their shoes.

"Li-kun, what's the matter? Don't you want to see my surprise?" Sakura asks, a sadness returning to her voice.

Syaoran puts his forearm back up again to shield Tomoyo. "What was it that you said you wanted to show us?"

Sakura shakes her head. "I didn't say." She proceeds to pace backwards into the woods, motioning Syaoran and Tomoyo to follow her. "C'mon, Li-kun, Tomoyo-chan, I want you both to see this! You'll love it!" Sakura beckons.

Syaoran looks back at Tomoyo and nods before proceeding through the woods after Sakura.

Tomoyo places a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "Li-kun, don't you see what's going on?" she asks fearfully. She leans in over Syaoran's ear and cups her hand to his ear. "This has all the markings of a trap!" she whispers urgently.

Syaoran looks back at Tomoyo out the corner of his eye. "I know that. Just play along for now. You're not the Card Captor of Kaos, I am. Whatever she wants, it probably doesn't have anything to do with you, so if something goes wrong, run back to the King Penguin and I'll meet you there."

"You're going to deliberately walk into a trap?!" Tomoyo asks desperately.

Syaoran's eyes remain glued on Sakura's form as she runs off into the dense woods. "It may be a trap, but _she _doesn't yet know that _I_ know, so the element of surprise is still ours." Syaoran proceeds slowly through the forest, being followed closely by Tomoyo.

Sakura continues to skip merrily through the woods until the thickness of the trees renders even the bright afternoon sun to a bleak few streams of light penetrating through the thick canopy. Sakura stops running and comes to a stop, allowing Syaoran and Tomoyo to catch up.

Syaoran and Tomoyo scan the area around them, with Sakura still turned away.

"We're here," Sakura announces, turning to face Syaoran and Tomoyo while wearing an enormous smile.

"Where's 'here'?" Syaoran asks skeptically, continuing to hold his arm up in front of Tomoyo.

Sakura looks up into the large tree above her. "This is what I wanted to show you…" she begins.

Syaoran and Tomoyo slowly turn their gazes upwards until something they see causes them to balk in horror. Tomoyo clasps her hands over her mouth and buries her face into Syaoran's chest, while Syaoran throws his arms around her defensively.

"What's the meaning of this?" Syaoran asks.

Sakura innocently folds her arms behind her back. "What's the matter? Can't you see it in the tree?"

Syaoran fixes his eyes to the sight in the tree. "I can see it just fine…" he answers sternly.

Upon a high tree branch, a wool long-sleeved turtleneck sweater, much like Sakura's, had been tied to the limb of a tree. It dangles down, having been stretched some distance, and forming a slipknot at the end. In the slipknot hangs a head with a stunningly familiar face. The body hanging in this makeshift noose was Sakura's. Her body turns and sways lifelessly in the wind, her pale, bare feet suspended no less than a full meter above the ground, possibly even two.

Syaoran continues to hold onto a sobbing Tomoyo while he himself holds back a violent torrential river behind his eyes, as well as a repulsed urge to vomit at the sight.

The Sakura standing in the middle of the woods paces towards Syaoran. "Can't you see, Li-kun? I'm dead now." She holds her arms open invitingly before grinning carelessly. "Y'know, it's kinda' funny because I've been afraid of ghosts all my life. But now that I am one, I feel so… so care-free…" she comments childishly. "And I owe it all to you, Li-kun," she concludes.

"Don't blame this on me, specter!" Syaoran threatens the approaching figure.

"Who's blaming?" Sakura asks. "After those things you said, I felt so sad at first. It was like I lost the will to live. After that, I-"

"You killed yourself?!" Syaoran interrupts. "Why would you do that? You had so much to live for. Didn't it occur to you that there were people who cared about you?"

Sakura shakes her head. "Li-kun, you don't understand. I was scared at first because I didn't know what was left for me. But after I took my life, I felt freed. Released from all my troubles. As a spirit, I can live forever. All those people that care about me can know that, from now on, I'll always be safe. I'll always be okay. Now, I can be sure that… zettai-"

"Shut up!" Syaoran fires back as Tomoyo turns around in Syaoran's arms and looks back at the spirit with watery eyes.

"Li-kun-" Sakura reaches out.

"I said shut up!" Syaoran interrupts, letting Tomoyo go and marching towards Sakura, confronting her face to face.

Sakura folds her hands and looks down at the ground with guilt. "I don't get it, Li-kun, I thought you'd be happy that you didn't have to protect me from all the bad things anymore."

Syaoran shakes his head. "Y'know, you're absolutely right. You _don't _get it. You don't understand how precious your life was…" Syaoran lowers his own gaze. "…to me…" he adds in a whisper.

Sakura reaches over Syaoran's shoulders, lacing her fingers behind Syaoran's neck. "And my new life can be just as precious…" she responds, closing her eyes and pulling Syaoran closer. She plants a soft, brief kiss on Syaoran's cheek, causing him to light up bright red in the face. Sakura opens her eyes and stares affectionately at Syaoran.

"S-sa-sa… Sakura… this is wrong," Syaoran stutters.

"Says who?" Sakura asks.

"Li-kun, the cadaver!" Tomoyo shouts in the background, causing Syaoran to turn around sharply and throw off Sakura's embrace.

"What?" Syaoran asks, getting highly irritated and turning away from Sakura.

Tomoyo points her camera fearfully up into the tree. "The cadaver doesn't photograph either!" Tomoyo shouts over at Syaoran.

"What's a cadaver?" Syaoran asks.

"A body!" Tomoyo answers.

Syaoran turns his attention to the hanging Sakura in the tree, turning his head in perplexity, as the Sakura standing behind him allows a nervous look to cross her face.

Syaoran reaches towards his right wrist as he feels a shockingly familiar tickle on his arm. With his eyes still affixed to the body, a realization comes to his mind that causes him to angrily wrinkle the skin on his forehead. "Sakura…" he begins to fume angrily.

Sakura begins to turn around and escape backwards, but is caught by Syaoran, who kicks her swiftly in the stomach, knocking her into a tree and laying her out limply. At this assault, the Sakura corpse hanging in the tree rapidly vaporizes, burning away in a split second.

Syaoran quickly tosses his jean jacket into the air. Under his coat, he wears a short-sleeved white t-shirt. He also wears a retracted bone-like device on his arm. "Key hiding the Powers of the Inferno, Release!" Syaoran declares, causing a glowing orange circle with a seven-pointed star drawn within it to appear in the ground below his feet. The Inferno Crossbow reacts quickly at Syaoran's command, whipping out its wings and materializing an orange beak on the nose. The skull of the crossbow wraps over his right knuckles and a small, glowing orange circle appears on the face of the skull.

Sakura carefully picks herself up, grunting in pain, and stands to her feet, but Syaoran quickly wraps his hand around her throat and pins her to the tree.

"That was a dirty trick, you scum…" Syaoran utters furiously.

Sakura's eyes begin to glass over as she runs short of breath. She claws desperately at Syaoran's grip with her short, stubby fingernails. "…stop…" she mutters just barely before her eyes roll back into her head.

Syaoran quickly releases Sakura from his grip, throwing her to the forest floor. Sakura quickly drinks in huge gulps of sweet air amongst heavy hacking coughs. She looks up at Syaoran, her eyes focusing on Syaoran's right arm.

"That key-" Sakura says before coughing loudly, gulping in the air too quickly. "I didn't know that Li Syaoran was a Card Captor of Kaos, too. Why would Lycan-sama send me after him?" she asks herself.

"Lycan-_sama_?" Syaoran asks with a curious intrigue. He swiftly grabs Sakura by the shoulders and hoists her to her feet, throwing her back against the tree he had kicked her into, and he points the ready-to-fire tip of the Inferno Crossbow at her throat. "You _are _a Kaos Card!" Syaoran exclaims, shaking the Sakura-looking doppelganger around furiously. "Fess up! What does Lycan want with me?!" he asks angrily, despite the Sakura-looking spirit's attempts to put up her arms defensively.

Tomoyo vainly tries to wedge her arms between Syaoran and the Sakura look-alike. "Li-kun, cut it out! Don't do something you'll regret! Don't turn into a monster!" Tomoyo begs, but Syaoran shoves Tomoyo aside.

Syaoran returns his attention to the ghost Sakura imposter. "Can you shape-shift?" he asks, pressing the tip of the Inferno Crossbow against the spirit's throat.

The spirit shakes her head, fearful for her life, with her eyes fixed as closely as possible to the tip of the Inferno Crossbow pointed to her neck. "N-n-n-no, no I can't, not unless my master orders me to," she answers fearfully.

Syaoran imposes himself even closer to the spirit. "Then you'd better cooperate or I'll blast your head clean off, got it?" Syaoran threatens.

The spirit begins to sweat and cry in a frantic panic. "Please, stop! Have mercy! If you pity me at all, I'm begging you, seal me, please!" she pleads.

Syaoran backs away, considering the spirit's plea in his mind and staring back with a confused expression. "You _want _me to seal you away? What kind of pathetic Kaos Card are you?"

"Just seal me, please!" the spirit continues to beg. "You're Damien-san's Card Captor. If you seal me away, Lycan-sama won't be able to find me, but if the _other _Card Captor seals me, he'll _know _I failed in my mission!" she explains.

"What mission?!" Syaoran barks, twisting the spirit's turtleneck sweater like a garrote and lifting her off the ground. "Answer me!"

The spirit paws uselessly at Syaoran's grip as she cries out her pleas to the unsympathetic warden before her. "Please, seal me, and hurry! If Lycan-sama finds out that I failed, h-h-h-he'll kill my sister!" she explains dubiously.

Syaoran stares at the spirit's emotionally shattered form with a look of utter dumbfounded contempt. "Your _sister? _How stupid do you think I am? Mission. Now. _Then _sealing, and no sooner. If it comes to it, I'll feed you to Lycan myself."

The spirit struggles back with short, flailing kicks. "You don't have the nerve!" she dares.

Syaoran slams the spirit back-first into the tree again, knocking the wind out of her before lowering her to her feet and staring her right in the eye. "The _nerve_?! I told the love of my life that she means absolutely nothing to me. How little do you think I'm capable of?"

"Li-kun, stop!" Tomoyo shouts, plowing straight between Syaoran and the Kaos Card spirit that he had been interrogating. Tomoyo pushes the two apart and stands between them with her arms extended and her elbows locked.

On one side of Tomoyo, Syaoran fumes violently, waiting for another opportunity to shove Tomoyo aside. On the other side, the Sakura-looking Kaos Card spirit rubs her sore throat and gulps in several deep breaths among a hacking cough. She grabs hold of her rapidly pounding chest as she glances at Syaoran opposite her with a look of fear and hurt.

"You're a heartless maniac, y'know that?" the spirit girl says to Syaoran.

Syaoran attempts to shove past Tomoyo, but Tomoyo holds him back. "Zombie freak…" he shoots back.

The spirit grits her teeth in frustration. "If you would've just sealed me away the moment you realized I was a Kaos Card, this wouldn't be a problem. But every second that I stay in this form, Lycan-sama could find me. He said that…" She turns away from Syaoran and Tomoyo and squats down low before curling up into a ball. "He said… that if I failed… he'd have my sister killed…" she begins to pout.

"Again with this sister garbage?!" Syaoran snaps. "You're a Kaos Card! You can't have a sister!"

The spirit looks up at Syaoran and shakes her head. "There's a lot you don't know about being a Kaos Card…"

"Enlighten me…" Syaoran offers grimly.

The spirit stands to her feet slowly, dusting the dirt off her knees. "My name is Mirage. I'm sort of the special child as far as Kaos Cards go. All other Kaos Cards are bound together by the fact that their magical powers are _combinations_ of the magical sources that each became or already were Clow Cards, which is why Kaos Cards are so superior in power. But by some kind of freaky coincidence, one of Gin-sama's original Kaos Cards ended up an exact duplicate of one of the Clow Cards that Reed had already created, no more or less powerful. I am that card. My counterpart's name is Mirror. But the Card Captor in charge of Mirror-chan is also the Card Captor of the Kaos Cards, and she's working for Lycan-sama. And Lycan-sama told me to kill you. He said that if I failed-"

"Bull." Syaoran replies nonchalantly. "I don't buy your little fairy tale. And besides, I'm not Lycan's problem. Why would he take interest in me anyway?"

Mirage shakes her head back and forth. "I don't know, I don't know! Lycan-sama keeps me on a short leash! He doesn't tell me anything!"

Syaoran finally shoves past Tomoyo. "How convenient…" Syaoran mutters.

"Please!" Mirage begs desperately, defensively putting her hands up. "Please believe me! I don't know what Lycan-sama is planning! But you have to seal me away. If Lycan-sama's Card Captor finds me and seals me to _her _name, Lycan-sama will know that I blew it and Mirror-chan will be dead meat."

Syaoran pins Mirage against the tree again by grabbing her shoulder and throwing her back into the tree trunk. "I don't know what's fishier: the fact that you're so forgetful or the fact that you _care _what happens to a Clow Card."

Mirage shakes her head with disgust. "Please. If it were any other card in Reed's deck of sideshow weirdoes, I could care less. But…" She lowers her gaze and tone. "…but not Mirror-chan. Not her. Reed and Gin-sama didn't know about it, but Mirror-chan and I go way back. We were good friends. We thought the same, acted the same, and even had the same powers. We were like clones. Twin sisters. But not even the other cards knew about it." Mirage stares down with tears welling in her eyes. "No one else was supposed to know. How did Lycan-sama figure it out? About us? …Who told him?"

"Who?!" Syaoran snaps with intrigue. "What do you mean 'who'?"

Mirage panics under Syaoran's interrogation. "I don't know! I'm just saying that Lycan-sama probably figured out about Mirror-chan from somebody else, but I can't imagine for the life of me who else would've known…" Mirage stares at the ground again, this time in deep thought. She begins to space out as her mind detaches from the world around her.

Syaoran attempts to hold himself back, regulating his anger against the wayward Kaos Card before him. But all of a sudden, a faint flicker of light behind Mirage catches Syaoran's attention. Syaoran stands in place as he stares deeply into the forest, squinting at the source of the brief flash. Again, the glittery flicker flashes through the forest, though the source is too deep and dark for Syaoran to gauge with his eyes.

The flicker appears again, but closer. Syaoran sees the glimmering light appear in a curving, golden arc as his eyes open wider and wider.

"GET DOWN!" Syaoran shouts, grabbing Mirage by the collar of her turtleneck and yanking her off her feet and right on the ground. Syaoran kneels down low to the ground and wraps his arms protectively over his head. Tomoyo hears Syaoran's warning just in time to turn her head in his direction, but not quickly enough to dive down before the tree trunk behind Mirage shatters right at the midsection. Chips of wood and bark launch outwards in an explosive arc of wooden shrapnel.

Tomoyo quickly dives down onto her stomach and throws her arms over her head. Many of the wood chip fragments fly right over her low position, but many more rain lightly down, covering her, Syaoran, and Mirage under a fine blanket of splinters.

Mirage opens her eyes slowly, just having comprehended what happened, and she notices Syaoran's hand still clasped tightly to her collar.

Syaoran himself had been covered in the debris, but he shakes his head back and forth, shaking off the larger pieces of the imploded foliage. He then turns his head to stare stoically at Mirage.

Mirage places a hand over her mouth, noticing Syaoran's hand grasped tightly to her collar. "Y-yo-you… You saved me…" she whispers softly.

Syaoran returns a mean glare in Mirage's direction. "I didn't save _you_…" Syaoran mutters in a low tone of voice. "…I stopped _her_…" he adds, raising his gaze to peek around the stump of a tree.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are…" an eerily familiar girl's voice taunts from further within the forest.

Mirage's eyes shoot open wide as she recognizes the voice. She rises to her knees and turns her head in the direction of the approaching voice. "It's Lycan-sama's Card Captor!" she whispers urgently. "Whatdowedo? Whatdowedo? Whatdowedo? Whatdowedo? Whatdowedo?" she pleads quietly and frantically, her big, green, watery eyes endearingly fixed on Syaoran.

"C'mon, Kaos Card, I don't have all day!" Sakura's quickly-angering voice calls out, louder than before.

Mirage's frantic panicking turns to terrified bawling as she curls up into a ball behind the tree stump and throws her arms over her head. "Oh, Kami-sama, please don't let her get me…" she begs in vain.

Syaoran, noticing Mirage's frantic behavior, crouches down low and inches closer to the spirit. "Don't move. Don't say anything. Don't make a sound. Just keep quiet. I'll handle this," Syaoran instructs sternly in tone, yet softly in volume. Syaoran is answered by a subtle, quick nod from Mirage.

Syaoran climbs to his knees and peeks around the tree stump. Before him, he sees Sakura emerge from the woods, wearing the exact same turtleneck sweater and blue jeans that Mirage was wearing. Most notably, Sakura carries a giant, grim scythe in her hands. The scythe is adorned with bat wings on the broad end of the blade, closest to the handle. The scythe itself appears to be permeated by a long, deep crack about halfway down the blade. The pole of the staff is a pitch black rod, around which the likeness of a golden snake coils all the way up the rod.

Sakura turns her head and stares around the forest. She whistles, as if calling out to a lost dog. "Here cardy, cardy, cardy… Come on out. It's okay, I won't hurt you… enough…" she beckons, an ominously sarcastic innocence pervading her tone.

Syaoran continues to peer around the tree stump. "Sakura…" he mutters very softly under his breath.

Sakura perks up at hearing Syaoran's whispering voice. She begins to approach Syaoran's position. "Hm? My ears are burning. Somebody said my name. My _first _name…" she says aloud.

Syaoran jumps out from behind the tree stump and quickly aims the Inferno Crossbow directly at Sakura, holding his wrist to further steady his aim. Sakura stands right at point-blank range from Syaoran, with the tip of the Inferno Crossbow practically touching her nose.

Syaoran looks at Sakura's chest to see the empty Elixir of Fire bottle hanging on the lanyard around Sakura's neck. He returns his gaze to Sakura's face, where a close observation reveals an orange flicker, like a fire, in Sakura's eyes.

"Looks like your ears aren't the only things that are burning," Syaoran comments. "You used the Nightmare Card. Why?"

Sakura stares down at the giant scythe in her pitifully small hands. She also takes hold of the Elixir of Fire's bottle. "What can I say? A girl's gotta' have her accessories."

"But not weapons," Syaoran retorts.

Sakura shrugs arrogantly, turning her nose up at Syaoran. "Well you're not the boss of me, _shounen_," Sakura responds pejoratively, sticking out her tongue at Syaoran.

Syaoran sneers at Sakura, keeping the Inferno Crossbow locked on-target. "Let the Elixir of Fire out. Now," Syaoran orders sternly. "I told you that _I'll _handle the Kaos Cards from now on. I don't want you to get hurt."

Sakura gently reaches towards Syaoran's wrist. "Well then, if you don't want me getting hurt…" she begins, placing a single left hand right on the head of the flaming arrow. The arrowhead sizzles with a sound like burning meat, but Sakura is unfazed by the intense heat of the arrow. She effortlessly bends the Inferno Crossbow up towards the sky, despite Syaoran's best attempts to fight against her supernaturally-augmented strength. Sakura leans in towards Syaoran, getting right in his face. "…then you shouldn't aim sharp objects at people's faces. You could put someone's eye out with that thing," Sakura scolds Syaoran patronizingly, as she finally crushes the arrowhead in her iron grip, causing the rest of the arrow to magically dissipate, releasing Syaoran's tense arm.

Syaoran shakes out his sore wrist as the Inferno Crossbow automatically generates a new arrow along the spinal shaft. Syaoran then raises his gaze straight into Sakura's eyes. He can now easily see the ethereal flames burning behind Sakura's translucent emerald-like retinas. "The Elixir has you under its control. I can see its magic in your eyes," Syaoran states. But suddenly, Syaoran feels a sharp, sore pain in his stomach as he hunches over. Sakura had jabbed the dull end of the Nightmare's staff into his stomach.

Sakura gazes off aloofly. "And quit staring into my eyes all the time. It's creepy, y'know." She opens one eye to glance at a hunched over Syaoran, when something further in the forest catches her eye. "Well I'll be… you brought the Mouse with you, too." Sakura notices with a pleasant surprise, hinting at Tomoyo.

Tomoyo had just crawled to her knees as she continues to shake the splinters and bark fragments out of her hair. She looks up at hearing Sakura's familiar, if not coy, voice. However, instead of jumping to her feet in childish exuberance when she usually meets up with Sakura, she merely exchanges stares with her. Tomoyo stands slowly to her feet, keeping her gaze fixed with Sakura's, while approaching Syaoran and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Syaoran recuperates from the clubbing stomach blow, using the tree stump to lean on and to pull himself to a standing position again.

Sakura takes a few steps backwards, observing Syaoran and Tomoyo. "It's the shounen and the field mouse. Y'know, maybe _you two _should start going out and stuff. It'd sure get your mind off little ol' me, wouldn't it… shounen?" Sakura taunts.

Syaoran comes to his full height as he puts an arm over Tomoyo's shoulder, apparently still winded from the stomach shot. "Don't tempt me," Syaoran threatens weakly. "If the Sakura _I _know wasn't trapped in there somewhere, I might have considered your offer. But I'll get that Elixir of Fire out of you if it kills me."

Sakura squints with intrigue. "That could be arranged _very _easily…" she begins, but she breaks her stare with Syaoran to turn her attention to surveying the forest around them. "…but not right now. I'm hunting at the moment. Did either of you see a Kaos Card run though these parts, about yea tall, looking like…" she begins to describe, looking down at her own attire. "…well, like me?" she asks.

Syaoran's gaze turns from Sakura to behind the tree stump, where Mirage was hiding. However, Mirage was not there, nor behind seemingly any nearby tree. "Mirage…" Syaoran mutters, staring deeper into the forest.

Sakura quickly focuses her attention into the depths of the forest, where Syaoran was looking. Deep in the woods, she sees a dark-haired girl's head pop out from behind a thick tree before slinking back into the shady forest. Sakura takes this cue and quickly takes off into the forest. Soon after, the girl hiding behind the tree in the distance also abandons her hiding place and bolts off.

Syaoran reaches to grab Sakura's wrist before she can get away, grabbing at the upper arm of Sakura's sweater and pulls her back. Sakura then quickly shakes Syaoran off before holding out the Nightmare in front of her. The Circle of Kaos appears below Sakura's feet as the wings on the broad end of the Nightmare swell up to several times their size, allowing the rod to fly under its own magic. Sakura takes a seat on the staff portion of the Nightmare as her feet lift off the ground. The Nightmare's wings flap with gusts powerful enough to hold Syaoran and Tomoyo back, nearly knocking them down, before the Nightmare quickly takes off, allowing Sakura to bolt through the forest at incredibly quick speeds. As she passes by trees, she tilts the scythe horizontally, using the blade of the scythe to chop down any trees in her path as she flies through the woods, disappearing from Syaoran's and Tomoyo's sights and leaving a trail of sloppy deforestation in her wake.

Syaoran lifts his posterior off the ground and climbs to his feet as he attempts to follow Sakura's fleeting figure through the woods with his eyes, but Sakura flies far too quick for him to focus. She soon disappears from Syaoran's sight. Syaoran attempts to chase after Sakura, but he soon collapses to his knees in fatigue and despair, his breathing heavy and his heart pounding fast. The magic arrow on the Inferno Crossbow vaporizes as the key itself deactivates and retracts at Syaoran's magical inability to maintain it.

Tomoyo catches up to Syaoran and kneels down to his level. However, Syaoran doesn't seem to notice Tomoyo's presence at all.

"She's hunting it," Syaoran states matter-of-factly. "I should've seen right through Mirage's little game and sealed her on the spot. I shouldn't have tried to sway Sakura from collecting the Kaos Cards. I should've just done everything in secret. I shouldn't have gotten involved…" Syaoran drones, listing one ideal hypothetical after another.

Tomoyo places a hand on Syaoran's shoulder, causing Syaoran to turn his head in her direction.

"Li-kun, don't give up hope now," Tomoyo urges. "Sakura-chan wouldn't be able to get as far as this without your help. And she still won't be able to capture all the Kaos Cards on her own. She's counting on your help. Not just to defeat the Kaos Cards, but to free her from the Elixir of Fire. You promised Sakura-chan that you'd keep her safe. Do you think you can still make good on that promise?" she challenges.

Syaoran stares into the forest, where Sakura had flown off into. "You don't get it. I've already failed her. Sakura is trapped in the Elixir of Fire, and she's pursuing her third Kaos Card. She's already one step ahead of me. If I can't prove myself a better Card Captor of Kaos than her-"

"Li-kun!" Tomoyo chastens, predicting the direction of Syaoran's logic.

"Just hear me out!" Syaoran yells back hoarsely, hushing Tomoyo down. "Sakura already has Mirage as good as caught. If she catches her fourth Kaos Card, there's no possible way I could capture more cards than her. If she ends up proving herself magically-superior to me, she'll be the permanent Card Captor of Kaos. But she'll be driven mad by the power, and the Sakura that we know will be lost forever, buried and incinerated by the Elixir of Fire. If she survives the Kaos Cards in body, but loses her soul in the process, she may as well be dead." Syaoran looks Tomoyo in the eye and shakes his head. "I can't defeat her like this. It's over." The next thing Syaoran knows, he feels a weak, right-handed slap on his cheek.

Tomoyo's slap doesn't make much of an impact against the rugged Syaoran and slides right off his face like a pat. She hyperventilates frantically after hearing Syaoran's effective surrender. "Li-kun, I've never known you to give up at _anything_, but if you're giving up on Sakura-chan _that_ easily… then I guess you were right. You _don't _care about her!"

Though Syaoran had barely felt Tomoyo's slap, Tomoyo's outburst had left him speechless, as if Sakura had whacked him in the stomach with Nightmare again. He fights the urge to slap Tomoyo back or fire off back at her in some way, taking deep breaths to calm down and recognize the counter-productivity of arguing. After calming, he remains speechless for a short moment, allowing both himself and Tomoyo to calm down. "What do I do now?" Syaoran asks softly, breaking the silence.

Tomoyo puts on a hopeful smile and places her comforting hand back on Syaoran's shoulder. "You get up, dust yourself off, and you run like you've never run before. When you confront Sakura-chan, believe in yourself and you'll know what to do. On some level, beneath all that pomp and arrogance, Sakura-chan is in there somewhere, trapped, alone, and scared, and she's counting on you."

Syaoran fights against his own exhausted body to climb to one knee. He finally climbs to his feet, leaning on his knees, before fully standing upright. He holds out his right forearm before him and a Kaos Card in his left hand. Tomoyo steps back as the Circle of Kaos appears below Syaoran's feet and Syaoran begins the incantation.

"Key hiding the Powers of the Inferno, show your true form before me. I, Xiaolang, command you under our contract…"

Tomoyo stands right outside the Kaos Circle and smiles as she sees Syaoran take up action again.

"Release!" Syaoran declares. The Inferno Crossbow whips back to life again, extending its bow-like wings, folding the skull over the back of Syaoran's hand, and materializing another orange arrow along the shaft. With a quick tap of the tip of the arrow to the Kaos Card in Syaoran's opposite hand, Syaoran is surrounded by an orange corona from the card itself. As quick as the card had overtaken Syaoran with its magical effects, Syaoran quickly bolts off into the woods with unnatural speed, kicking up a cloud of dust and grass behind him.

"_Sakura-chan, you're in good hands…_" Tomoyo says in her mind, after Syaoran had disappeared into the dark woods.

To Be Continued…


	8. 6 A Duality of Despair pt II

Chapter 6: A Duality of Despair (Part II)

(Sakura's room)

With the door closed and the light dimmed, Kero flies over to the curtains to pull them shut, eliminating the orange sunlight shining in from the window. He then sits down at the windowsill, turned away from the curtains, and he shuts his eyes meditatively.

The right-hand drawer of Sakura's desk opens itself as a red book glowing with a yellow aura levitates out. The book hovers in midair as it breaks its own seal, revealing a stack of cards inside the book where the pages would be. Under their own power, the cards begin to float out of the book in a giant ring, until the entire deck of the fifty-two cards levitate in a giant ring.

"Don't worry, everyone," Kero reassures the apparently frantic cards. "I'm sure that Sakura will be fine. Clow knew what he was doing when he chose her as our new Master."

One of the Clow Cards in the ring breaks formation and floats face-down towards Kero. Kero then flips the card over, revealing it to be The Mirror.

"That's right. You were there." Kero says to Mirror. "You still remember him back then, don't you?"

--

(flashback)

In a dimly-lit room, the knob of an old-fashioned door turns and the door creaks open. A small, orangey catlike creature with a pair of tiny wings nudges the door open and pokes his head in.

"Clow, its dinnertime!" he calls out in his juvenile, slightly British-accented voice.

A blue-haired teenager with a short ponytail and wearing a black hooded cloak turns back towards the door. "In a minute, Kero. I'm working on a special project now," he replies.

Keroberos rolls his eyes at his master's callous response. "For the hundredth time, it's Ker-ber-us!" Keroberos corrects. He nudges the door further open with his head and walks into Reed's room. Lit by a duo of candles on Reed's desk, the otherwise empty and cobweb-ridden room appears nearly pitch black. "And would it kill you to clean this place out? It's kinda' creepy in here…" Keroberos asks, surveying the cluttered bed, cobweb-ridden crates and dusty stacks of thick books that look more at home in a haunted mansion than in a then-modern study room.

"C'mon, it's not _that _creepy, is it?" Reed replies. "Besides, I'm not really that hungry right now. I'm really busy."

"Riiiight…" Keroberos comments before sprinting forward and springing up right onto Reed's desk.

Keroberos and Reed exchange stares. Reed was drawing with a feather-pen on a small piece of paper. Keroberos turns his attention to the drawing. While it hadn't been completed, it showed a long-haired young girl holding onto some circular ring or plate of some kind. The bottom of the card reads "The Mirror."

"Drawing pretty girls is your idea of busy?" Keroberos asks rhetorically. He nudges Reed's shoulder as forcefully as he can. "C'mon, I'm hungry! If you would've just created me like every other _sane _sorcerer makes _their _Guardians, this wouldn't be a problem!" he scolds.

"What? What's wrong with being able to eat? I thought you liked all those tasty sweets, didn't you?" Reed asks, puzzled.

"Well I _did_," Keroberos begins in a somewhat self-incriminating tone, "…but that was before I realized that I needed to eat to stay alive. You meanie! Am I doomed to be a pig forever?" he retorts.

Reed glances up in thought for a split second before shrugging his shoulders. "Well… possibly…" he responds, giggling to himself as the mental image of a little winged lion with an enormously inflated belly crosses his mind.

Keroberos groans. "Why can't I just suck magic out of the earth, too? It's so much easier that way…" Keroberos protests petulantly.

Reed places his quill pen down and flips his new prototype card over before turning his full attention towards his Guardian Beast. "It's also easier to let go than hang on, if you're hanging over the edge of a cliff. There are times approaching when magical dependency will be like a virus. In that way, you're really the first of your kind. Soon, Kero, you'll be glad that I did what I did."

Keroberos scoffs and turns his head sharply. "Yeah, like in about two hundred years…" he retorts sarcastically.

"So you _do_ understand," Reed acknowledges, much to Keroberos' surprise. "Atta-boy, Kero," Reed adds with a half-pet, half-noogie to the young lion.

However, Keroberos doesn't have much of an opportunity to lance Reed with a well-deserved glare as Reed reaches behind his head and scratches him behind the ears, causing him to close his eyes blissfully and emit a soft purring. "Uhh… Clow, you _know _I'm a sucker for ear rubs, you crazy nut…" he says through his satisfied purring, attempting vainly to come off as accusatory.

--

(Sakura's room)

Kero floats over towards Sakura's desk and opens the bottom drawer of Sakura's desk, and the insides of which resemble something like a hand-made dollhouse living room, complete with a bed and even decorated with posters on the "walls". Staring into his personal abode, Kero notices his room littered with several discarded candy wrappers.

"_He knew that all of this was going to happen. He did know what he was doing. At least… I hope he did, for Sakura's sake_," Kero thinks to himself, floating into his room with intent of clearing out all the trash.

--

(the woods, near Penguin Park)

Mirage frantically storms onwards through the shady woods, repeatedly shooting glances behind and around her. She cries out tears of horror, counting in her head what could quite possibly be her last moments. Without slowing down, she quickly wipes her tears away with the sleeve of her sweater, but with her vision momentarily obstructed, her foot catches on an above-ground root, tripping her up and sending her hands and knees first into a floor of soggy dirt and mud. Taking no time to keep up appearances, she unhooks her foot from the high root and proceeds right back to fleeing.

Short moments after, a very similar-looking girl to Mirage flies by, riding atop a grimly-decorated scythe with large bat wings. She stops her flying pursuit of Mirage to circle around the location where she had tripped. Sakura transforms the Nightmare back into her key and the Nightmare Card. She also kneels down to see the handprints in the thick mud. Placing her own hands into the cavity, her hand fits the imprint perfectly. Sakura grins menacingly at the implications as she stands to her feet. "I've got you now…" she calls out ominously into the woods.

--

(further in the woods)

Syaoran darts glances about, quickly following the trail of slashed trees left in Sakura's wake while riding on the Nightmare. His frustration builds as the tediousness of his pursuit increases.

'This is stupid. These woods aren't _nearly_ this large. I should've either passed her by or come out the other end, not wind up in some gloomy jungle,' Syaoran thinks to himself. Tiring himself out, he slows his zealous rush down to a paced jog and then a slow walk. He finally stops moving altogether and places his hands on his knees to keep himself up while gulping in mouthfuls of precious oxygen at a time. His rubber knees nearly give way at the duress.

After a moment, Syaoran grudgingly walks ahead, in sharp defiance of his winded and tired body. Walking ahead a few more feet, he turns his head to the side, seeing a sharply-cut tree stump not far from his path. Near the stump, a familiar long-haired figure stares on in the opposite direction, into the forest.

"Daidouji-san?" Syaoran calls out.

Tomoyo turns around to see Syaoran behind her. "Li-kun?" Tomoyo glances over her shoulder in perplexity, pointing behind her frantically, trying to make sense of it all. "I thought you were chasing after Sakura-chan. How'd you get behind me?"

Not answering Tomoyo's question, Syaoran quickly rushes Tomoyo and shoves the Inferno Crossbow in her face, much to Tomoyo's shock and astonishment. Tomoyo speechlessly backs away until finding herself pinned against a tree, and Syaoran continues to pursue her slowly and stoically the whole way.

"Li-kun, what's gotten into you?" Tomoyo asks.

Syaoran holds Tomoyo against the tree with his forearm and he points the Inferno Crossbow's arrow at Tomoyo's wrist. He carefully yet quickly runs the arrow against the fabric, tearing through the cuff like a hot knife, before releasing a now outraged Tomoyo.

Tomoyo gawks in horror at the cut running from her cuff halfway down her forearm. She looks back at Syaoran with an expression of betrayal. "You lunatic! What was that for? This is a _designer_ dress. Do you have any idea how long it'll take me to make another one?!" she fires back.

Syaoran raises his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, it really is you. Sorry, just checking. With Kaos Cards like Mirage running around, you can never be too careful."

Tomoyo ceases babying the torn wrist of her outfit. She stares forward in a deep, dazed, and somewhat remorseful thought. "Speaking of whom, did you find Sakura-chan and Mirage-san?" she finally asks.

Syaoran stares back into the forest, in the direction he had presumably run off into. "Doesn't look like I'll be able to at this rate…" he answers ominously. "Do you think this forest is abnormally large for a suburb like Tomoeda?" Syaoran asks.

Tomoyo looks all around them, getting an eyeful of the forest that appeared as their confine. "_And how_," she answers matter-of-factly. "Do you think Sakura-chan cast a spell on the woods to trap us here?"

Syaoran shakes his head. "No, I don't think she's trying to trap _us_. But I bet that she trapped Mirage so that no one else can interfere with her capture. We're just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Syaoran supposes.

Tomoyo holds her hands in front of her face. "She's _already_ powerful enough to enchant a forest this size?" Tomoyo asks frightfully.

"She was always powerful, but she just doesn't realize it," Syaoran responds, tightly clenching his fists. "The Elixir of Fire blinded her to her own inner power, so she can never be happy with being as powerful as she is. All she wants now is more power, more power, and more power, even if it destroys everything about her to get it." Syaoran pauses, an eerie silence coming over him.

Tomoyo looks on into the deep forest. "Li-kun," she begins, breaking the silence. "… what do we do now?"

Syaoran shakes his head. "There's nothing we can do. We can't overpower her magic. She's won this round. All we can do is wait for her spell to pass and try again later when the next Kaos Card shows up."

Tomoyo turns her head sharply in Syaoran's direction. "Well you're taking this rather calmly," she objects sharply, folding her arms crossly. "I never thought I'd hear the day when you give up on Sakura-chan like this."

"I'm not giving up," Syaoran retorts calmly. "But if I want to overpower her next time, I can't exhaust my magic just by being mad." Syaoran relaxes, the Inferno Crossbow on his arm retracting and folding back up as he takes a seat on the tree stump. "The tables have turned in my favor, this time. Now, Sakura is the super-powered sorceress, and I'm the weaker-powered one who has to trust that everything will be alright. If she wants to play my game, I guess I'll play hers then…"

Tomoyo leans her back against a tree and closes her eyes. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, Li-kun. With the Elixir of Fire powering her, Sakura-chan can now play your game _very_ well. Maybe even better than you did."

Syaoran clenches his fists in his lap. "Don't remind me."

--

(outside a convenience store, late that evening)

A shadow quickly zips its way onto the roof from high in the air, the orange sunlight from the horizon hardly illuminating the figure at all.

The automatic sliding doors at the front of the convenience store slide open with a ping as a tall, silver-haired boy in a tan jacket and brown slacks walks out of the convenience store, carrying two large grocery bags filled to the brim, and holding an incredibly long receipt in between his index and middle fingers.

"That should do it for the weekend," Yukito mutters to himself, before suddenly finding himself grabbed by the collar and snagged into the air. The next thing he knows, he is on the roof of the convenience store, being held up by his collar by a muscular red claw. His eyes meet up with a pair of bioluminescent yellow eyes, clearly not human, from a dark silhouette.

"Glad you could make it, Judge," Damien answers, revealing himself from the shade by stepping into the fluorescent glow of the convenience store sign.

Yukito shivers in Damien's grip. He drops his groceries to the ground to try and muscle Damien's enormous claw off his shirt, but to no avail.

"What's the matter? Not coming out to play, are we?" Damien asks coyly.

Yukito wraps his arms around Damien's claw to keep his shirt from ripping under the duress. "W-whatdoyouwantwithme?" he stutters fearfully.

Damien hurls Yukito aside, sending him reeling and tumbling around on the roof of the convenience store. Despite Yukito's best attempts to stand up after this, Damien quickly floats over to where he is and places his clawed foot down on Yukito's back, forcing his face into the concrete roof.

"I _know_ you're in there. Don't make me have to open this shell up with my bare hands…" Damien threatens.

Yukito just barely lifts his head up in the general direction of his assailant. "Who, or _what_ are you? Why are you doing this to me?!"

Damien kneels down to meet Yukito face to face. "You know _exactly _why I'm doing this to you. After all…" he begins, pausing for a moment to scrutinize his scaled 'hands'. "…look at what _you_ did to _me_. If anything, I'm being generous."

"But I've never seen you before in my life! How could I have done anything to you?!" Yukito asks desperately, staring Damien straight in the eye.

Damien answers Yukito's stare with one of his own, and both exchange stares until Damien's eyes widen. "You… you really don't know… do you?" Damien asks calmly, picking up Yukito by the shirt on his back and lifting him up to his feet.

Yukito sorely hangs in Damien's grip. "That's what I was trying to tell you. Look, I'm sorry for what whoever did to you, and I'd _like_ to help you out, but I don't know how. But whoever it is that you're looking for, _you've got the wrong guy_." 

"No kidding…" Damien responds, staring down. "When it comes to being sick and twisted, Reed, this just takes the cake," Damien says to Yukito, though not necessarily _at_ him per se.

"Reed?" Yukito asks weakly before falling unconscious. A pair of silver bird wings slowly sprouts from Yukito's back, allowing Yukito's limp, comatose body to levitate in the air. The wings swell up and wrap around Yukito's entire body. After an audible pulsation of energy from within the wings, the feathered veils lift away, revealing the resemblance of an angel with long silver hair, pure white robes, and nearly bare feet.

Yue gently floats down, resting his mostly bare feet on the hard stone rooftop. "You use Clow Reed's name with confidence, demon. You must be incredibly brave," Yue commends coldly.

Damien squints ferociously at Yue's slight. "You _would _think like that. Your very existence is like venom to me, yet you're nothing but Reed's pet angel. I can't say I'm surprised."

"_Reed's_ _pet angel_?" Yue asks in disgust. "And what foul abomination do _you _serve, if I may ask?" Yue fires off, but he quickly finds Damien's claws grasping strong hold of his robes and pulling him face-to-face with Damien.

"Look, Pretty-Boy, I didn't track you down to debate semantics with you," Damien insists. "How much has your master told you of one named Kaos Gin?"

Yue turns his head sharply away from Damien. "Nothing. Clow Reed is the greatest sorcerer to ever walk this earth. All others are but footnotes in history."

"Sounds like propaganda to me…" Damien responds. "…though I guess it explains your laxity when it comes to your _new _master… the Cherry Blossom," he mutters.

Damien's comment, no matter how soft-spoken, had struck such a chord against Yue that he turns his eyes sharply in the man-dragon's direction. With a quick sweep of his arms, Yue clears Damien's grip from his clothes and backs away, hovering in the air. "What are you up to?! If you have a problem with Clow, leave Sakura out of it!"

Damien shakes his head. "Too late. The wheels of destiny are in motion. Besides, nothing I could do to her could ever compare what Reed did to _us_."

"Us? Who is 'us'?" Yue asks.

Damien folds his arms. "Honestly, what kind of rock did Reed hide you under that you don't remember any of this?! Let's just say that your master wasn't the only sorcerer who dabbled in enchanted cards. And he certainly wasn't the best."

"I'd imagine that this is where your own over-boasted master comes into the picture," Yue snipes. "But still, what does this have to do with Sakura? She is done with Clow Reed. The Clow Cards belong to her now. It's over."

"This has nothing to do with the Clow Cards… but _everything _to do with Reed!" Damien replies furiously, quickly turning his back and whipping Yue backwards viciously with his powerful crocodile-like tail.

Yue takes the blow across his chest, sending him reeling through the air until he winds up levitating over the buildings on the opposite side of the street from the convenience store. After recovering from the ferocious strike, he whips his arms out and his palms glow. In his palms appears a pair of levitating blue glowing orbs. "Malicious devil! Are you trying to tell me that this threat on Sakura's life is merely to _spite _Clow?" Yue asks forcibly. "I won't let you…" By whipping his hands forwards, Yue unleashes a torrent of ice crystals headed straight for Damien. Damien responds by holding his ground confidently, as the ice melts away around him, before it smashes into him and potentially slices him into ribbons. The water splashes onto his scales and boils to steam, leaving a stream of humid vapor to fly right past Damien's body.

Damien shakes his head with building frustration. "So now it's _spite_? You just love to assume the worst, don't you, Reed-lover? As easy as it would be for a _superior _Guardian, like me, to do, I don't have time to match powers with you. But if you truly want to know the answers to your questions, then you'll follow me…" Damien instructs calmly. Damien then lunges upwards straight into the air like a rocket, and Yue takes flight after him in hot pursuit. However, Yue can barely keep up with Damien as he attempts to catch him.

Soaring up into the clouds, Damien holds his position, seemingly thousands of feet off the ground. The bright neon lights of the street where they were fighting over appear as but twinkling stars below.

"This had better be good, creature. You test my patience enough with your arrogance _alone_, but I will allow _none _to speak ill of my former master," Yue warns, meeting eyes with Damien.

Damien gulps down deeply, swallowing his pride before responding. "My master, like yours, has two Guardian Beasts. Your … Kerberos, if memory serves, is your counterpart in protecting the Clow Cards. In the same way, I also work with another Guardian Beast. My counterpart is called Lycan. We had a delicate plan that, if successful, could complete a work that our dear master attempted to finish. But unfortunately, Lycan has gone horribly off-track. I'm worried that he might try and kill your Cherry Blossom."

Yue squints at Damien's sincerest explanation of his situation. "There is truly no honor among thieves then. Why is _your_ partner _my_ problem?"

Damien furiously balls up his claw and shakes a scaled fist at Yue. "Do you have something stuck in your ears?! Lycan is going to kill your master, and as much as I _hate_ you, I gave you a heads-up. But I guess that Reed's flunkies aren't any brighter than the Big Cheese they kiss up to. You care more about the name of your _former_ master far more than the safety of your new master. It's clear to me now that I've wasted my time here," Damien concludes, turning his back on Yue.

Yue spreads out his wings in an impressive display of wingspan. "I concur. You didwaste your time here," Yue replies. "Your partner isn't a Guardian of Clow Reed, making him weak, as are you. This is why you had to come to a _real _Guardian. But nonetheless, if you think that Yue the Judge is your errand boy, whom you can boss about at will, then you're an even greater fool than I expected. Your 'Lycan' is not my problem. I will continue to protect Sakura, but I refuse to fight your battles."

Damien scratches at his head in frustration, tugging at his crimson red hair and tearing out large clumps, much to even the unshakable Yue's shock. "No, Yue. You're the fool. I gave you a warning. Lycan is coming after the Cherry Blossom, and you don't even care. You're not just as stupid and arrogant as your master. You're also just as heartless." Damien looks back at Yue and stares him right in the eye, noticing Yue's typical stoic return stare. Damien's orange magical aura grows greatly as his red hair begins to fall from his scalp, greatly thinning his hair and revealing his tanned scalp right above his forehead.

Yue folds his arms. "If you think this convoluted mutation of yours is going to make me more likely to assist you, I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken of who you're dealing with."

Damien squints suspiciously. "Yes. Yes, Yue. A mutation. A mutation that exists because of YOU!" Damien accuses viciously, stunning Yue with the sheer force of the accusation. "Because Reed created you, I became obsolete. You weren't truly the first Guardian of the Clow. It was I who was to be by Kerberos' side. Reed and Gin were to be a _team_. But Reed felt the need to stab my master in the back. To abandon me, and to create you. To take the glory of Clow and hog it all to himself! And as your magic gets stronger and stronger, it destroys me slowly and painfully. You've been unknowingly killing me for the past two hundred years. Yet when I attempt to bring you this warning, not for Reed, not for Kaos, but for the Cherry Blossom herself… all I get is you spitting in my face. Well…" Damien rants, holding out his hands on opposite sides of himself, pouring the orange aura around his body into his palms, creating two flaming javelins, one in each hand. Damien grabs these javelins and strikes a pose for combat. "…it ends here, Yue. If requesting your aid won't work, I'll destroy you. And with your existence no longer plaguing me, I just _might _have a prayer of defeating Lycan myself. I'll protect the Cherry Blossom better than you ever could!"

Yue shuts his eyes and calmly traces a blue arc through the air. "You have made three mistakes here, Damien. Your first was to spout such blasphemous lies about Clow Reed. Your second was to take up arms against me. And your third was to assume guardianship over my new master. When I'm through with you, your power will be nothing but a faint memory, just like your master."

"Let's dance," Damien shoots back, tossing the spears at Yue, which Yue easily evades by strafing in midair.

Yue takes aim with a shimmering blue magical arrow, aiming it straight at Damien's heart. He fires the arrow, but a burst of orange energy flares up around Damien's body, vaporizing the arrow in a blast of magical heat.

Damien charges this magical energy around his body, focusing it with both his hands into a single sphere of energy. The flames extend take the form of a burning spear with a molten metal blade that flows like fire itself. Damien stares at Yue with murderous determination as he rushes forward with his mighty lance in hand, but Yue cracks a completely unseen and lightning-fast chop across Damien's stomach, stunning Damien and vaporizing his weapon. Shocked by both the force of chop and the magical expenditure of generating and losing such a large weapon, Damien hangs in midair for a split second before he begins to plummet to the ground. Before Damien can fall too far, Yue catches Damien by the throat, pulling him up to eye level and staring him down.

"You may be willing to destroy me, but I will not stoop to your level. You have but one chance to make your case, so listen closely or I will reduce you to the dust from whence you came. You _will_ take me to Sakura right now. You _will_ show me exactly what the danger is that she is in. And you _will not _double-cross me, lest I need to finish where I left off. If this 'Lycan' that you mention is also there, he is not my problem, nor will I make efforts to defeat him, save those necessary to keep Sakura out of danger. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

Damien breathes heavily with exhaustion as the rage that was in his eyes vaporizes, just as easily as his weapon had done earlier. "Maybe… you're not… quite the jerk… that I pegged you to be… at first…" he spits out piecemeal. "And you can… rest assured that… if we ever do… fight again… …I won't go… so easy… on you… But for now… follow me… I'll… show you… I'll show you everything…"

Yue stares into Damien's eyes, noticing the dissipation of Damien's rage. He stares further, trying to find even a hint of dishonesty in Damien's eyes and soul, but to no avail.

--

(the dark forest)

Syaoran swings his arm wildly, clearing through the low-hanging foliage, bushes, and vines in his path, proceeding through the path carved by the glowing red beak of the active Inferno Crossbow. Looking around, he comes to a familiar clearing, where Tomoyo sits on a cut-off tree stump in wait.

Tomoyo looks unenthusiastically back at Syaoran. "Still stuck?"

Syaoran slouches back against a tree with a loud groan. "Yeah, pretty much."

Tomoyo turns her gaze out into the infinite depth of the forest. "This is insane. How long could it take Sakura-chan to capture a card? Even a Kaos Card shouldn't have taken her this long to defeat."

"She must be toying with it," Syaoran observes. "Just torturing Mirage before finally sealing her off."

Tomoyo perks up at catching another one of Syaoran's Freudian slips. "Her?" 

Syaoran blushes for a split second. "It. Before finally sealing _it _off," Syaoran corrects himself subtly.

Tomoyo looks away from Syaoran, almost in fear of asking her next question. "A-are you… Do you feel compassion for a Kaos Card? I thought you hated them all."

Syaoran grits his teeth tightly, but Tomoyo doesn't notice. "I feel sorry for anyone or anything that has to confront Sakura when she's like she is now… even for a Kaos Card," Syaoran responds grimly

Tomoyo, eager to change the conversation, looks down at her wristwatch. She taps on the face of the digital watch with frustration, as even the seconds digits remain frozen in place. "No good. I can't even tell how long we've been here. My watch is still busted."

Tomoyo stares up into the trees. Hardly any light can penetrate the thick forest. It is at this moment that Syaoran notices Tomoyo's observation. Syaoran reaches into an inner jacket pocket and pulls out a yellow ofuda, rolled up like a miniature scroll. Gathering sticks and vines from on the ground, he kneels down in the middle of the clearing and arranges the sticks into a pile, unrolls the ofuda and places it over the center. At Syaoran's intense stare, the ofuda catches fire, igniting the makeshift fireplace and casting long, dark shadows across the forest. Syaoran stands to his feet and surveys the forest again with the aid of the fire's light, but the darkness of the forest remains impregnable.

"Sit tight, Daidouji-san. Looks like we could be spending the night," Syaoran tells Tomoyo.

Tomoyo responds by walking over near to the fire and kneeling in front of it. She sticks out her hands a short distance from her body to warm herself by the fire.

"Li-kun…" Tomoyo begins, catching Syaoran's attention. "…what are we going to do about Sakura-chan? Isn't there any way to stop her from acting like such a brat without hurting her?"

Syaoran kneels beside Tomoyo and folds his arms. He stares deeply into the fire, remaining silent for a seemingly eternally-long moment in time. "There are ways. There _have_ to be ways. Clow Reed defeated Kaos Gin the first time the Kaos Cards appeared, and I'll just have to give Sakura the same treatment as Clow gave Kaos," he answers.

Tomoyo begins to smile, complying with the soundness of Syaoran's logic regarding the situation. "And you are, after all, a descendant of Clow Reed. If anyone can save Sakura-chan, it's you."

Syaoran lets out a deep sigh as he pulls his knees up to his chin, as his pondering strays towards the facts of cold, hard reality. "But it's not going to be that easy for me. It's not a question of power, but whether I can bring myself to do what has to be done. She's going to fight me. And the only true way to stop her is to do exactly what Clow Reed did to Kaos. But I don't know if I can do that to Sakura." Syaoran holds up his right hand, fingering at the bandages wrapped tightly around his palm. "I can't raise my hand to her. No, I _won't_. Not again. I couldn't live with myself if… if I…" Syaoran continues, but he trails off at the end.

Tomoyo glances back over at Syaoran, noticing his attention fixed on his apparently wounded hand. "Li-kun, level with me. Your hand. What'd you do to it?" Tomoyo asks, pointing out Syaoran's bandages.

Syaoran unwraps the bandage around his hand, coiling the bandage in a ring around his fingers. Before removing the last of the bandages, he glances at Tomoyo out the corner of his eye. "Just remember, you asked…" he warns, receiving a comprehending nod from Tomoyo as a cue to remove the last of his bandages. Syaoran turns his palm face-up, revealing deep welts charred into his flesh, like from a cattle prod. The scabs appear to spell out something across Syaoran's palm, but Tomoyo can't quite decipher the characters, apparently never having seen them before.

"Chinese?" Tomoyo asks, answered by a nod from Syaoran.

"It's a ceremonial rite of mourning. When a Li does something they're ashamed of, they mark a burn into their skin," Syaoran answers grimly, balling his hand up into a fist. "I hit her. I… I couldn't believe what came over me. It was inexcusable. What I did."

Tomoyo reaches out to Syaoran and gently places her hand on his wrist. "You know, they say you always hurt the one you love most. You weren't being mean or cruel to her. You knew what you were doing. You love Sakura-chan, and you couldn't bear to see what the Elixir of Fire was doing to her innocent heart. A good parent gives the same loving discipline to a foolish child. Don't beat yourself up over it."

After a long pause and some deep thought, Syaoran rolls his eyes in Tomoyo's direction. "Hey, where do you get all this touchy-feely junk anyway? Do you carry a desk calendar around with you or something?" he asks curiously.

Tomoyo cracks a smile. "It's my summer assignment. I chose parental psychology for my subject. I finished it in the first two weeks of vacation."

Syaoran raises his eyebrow. "You're weird…" he comments, getting an innocent giggle out of Tomoyo.

Suddenly, Syaoran's and Tomoyo's chummy conversation is interrupted by a loud explosion and a bright blast of flame, casting dark shadows all across the forest from the few trees that weren't instantly incinerated by the blast. The explosion rocks the very ground, easily claiming Syaoran's and Tomoyo's attentions. The two take cover behind a large tree trunk off to their left, on their side of the explosion.

Tomoyo glances up meekly at Syaoran. "Did Sakura-chan catch Mirage just now?" she whispers.

Syaoran puts his finger in front of his mouth, hushing Tomoyo down. He peeks around the tree and raises his right arm, ready to call on the Inferno Crossbow at a moment's notice. He overhears some chatter over the crackling of the fire.

"Well _that _was brilliantly explosive. If this 'Ritieru Wurufu' creature that we need in order to save Sakura was around here, then you may as well have incinerated him with your magic spears," one of the voices, clearly male and with somewhat of a sophisticated accent, comments sarcastically.

"Just zip it, Reed-lover," the second voice, a familiar one to both Syaoran and Tomoyo, answers back. "And it's _Riteru _Wurufu, for your information."

"Run this by me one more time: you're looking for this '_Riteru_ Wurufu' because it has an incredible amount of magic and conveniently also seems to wish that Sakura be kept safe from this 'Lycan' you keep telling me about. But if Sakura is _already_ in as much danger as you say she is, why are we wasting our time on this little scavenger hunt?"

"Ugh. Look, what part of 'zip it' confuses you?"

Syaoran, having eavesdropped for more than long enough to identify the voices, backs away from the edge of the tree trunk. He shakes his head with utter confusion at the thought.

"Come on out, Little Wolf. You're not fooling anyone, hiding behind that tree. I can feel the Inferno Crossbow from over here," Damien's voice calls out.

Syaoran darts out from behind the tree, with his Inferno Crossbow raised and poised to fire its blazing dart, but he lowers his arm slightly as he notices the two beings before him. His jaw hangs down in shock. "…It's you!"

--

Sakura casts her piercing glances around the forest as she totes her mighty Kaos-halberd around. But Sakura suddenly stops as the shadows of the forest lift off the ground and take form behind her. Sakura closes her eyes as her pursuer takes form behind her.

"Dilly-dallying much, are we, Kinomoto Sakura?" the deep, bellowing voice asks rhetorically as the shadows take Lycan's shape. Lycan's massive frame places his masked face right in the tree branches, so he lowers his head down, breathing warm, noxious gusts through Sakura's hair from behind.

Sakura refuses to turn around, but she does glance out the corner of her eye. "Well, well. Better late than never. You almost missed the whole show. Frankly, I was wondering whether you were gonna' show up or not… Lycie-chan…" Sakura snipes.

Lycan squints in anger for a split second. "There's been a change of plans. We're not alone in this forest anymore. Damien has penetrated the magic barrier… and he brought some unwanted company."

Sakura rolls her eyes. "Don't tell me. You want me to make them gone," she guesses. She turns around sharply and swings the Nightmare right at Lycan, who doesn't flinch at all. Sakura ceases her swing with incredible control, right before the Nightmare's blade smashes into Lycan's bone mask, noticing Lycan's cold stoicism as she locks eyes with the beast. "Well I may be your Card Captor, but I'm not your mercenary, Lycie-chan. I'll deal with your little insubordinate later, when I'm good and ready." She lowers the Nightmare out of Lycan's face and pats Lycan pejoratively on the mask before turning away from the shady monster. "I'll have my fun at Mirage's expense, and until then, you can do your _own _dirty work!" Sakura adds sharply, but only to be bowled over from behind by a massive backhanded claw, sending her face-first into the dirt. Sakura lifts her head slightly off the ground, but before she can stand up, she feels a large heavy paw weighing her down, nearly crushing her flat had it not been for the aura of the Elixir of Fire protecting her.

Lycan lowers his head down to Sakura's ear, and Sakura struggles to turn her head to stare Lycan back in the eye. Lycan squints furiously. "Let me make things _crystal _clear. I am _not _a weak Guardian, like your former Guardians of Clow. I am not a _sympathetic _Guardian, like Keroberos. And I am most certainly _not _your friend, like that imbecilic Xiaolang. I care of but two things in this world: the orders of Lord Kaos himself, and results. See that you provide more of the latter, lest I have to dispose of you along with that turncoat, Damien… and his would-be ally, Yue." After his long-winded speech, Lycan lets his paw off Sakura's back and allows his Card Captor to stand to her feet, picking up the Nightmare on the way up.

"Yue?" Sakura asks in disbelief. "Hm. Y'know, now that I think of it, I _do _owe him a beating. If Yue gets in your way, I could see taking him out being personally gratifying…" she begins, before turning to face Lycan. "But first thing's first, finishing up with Mirage."

Lycan hangs his head and sighs a deep, bestial sigh. "I suppose the saying is true…" Lycan begins, as thin black strings shoot right out of his body and circle around Sakura.

Sakura takes a step back and holds up the Nightmare defensively, swinging at the black cords and slicing many of them up, but even with a wide, slashing motion, the strands keep closing in on her. The thin lines wrap around Sakura's wrists and pull her arms out in opposite directions, nearly ripping her arms off, and snatching the Nightmare right out of Sakura's hands, tossing it aside like a toy. Sakura grunts powerfully, trying to fight off the tight pull of the mysterious strings, but to no avail.

"…If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," Lycan continues. "Dominion Card, exorcise the Elixir of Fire!"

"Dominion?!" Sakura shouts back, not noticing a group of strands sneaking up behind her and stabbing her right in the back. Screaming loudly, her eyes and mouth begin to glow bright orange, as more and more of the strands that emerge from Lycan's body home in on Sakura's heart and penetrate right through to her core. Finally, the bright energy of the Elixir of Fire launches out of Sakura's eyes and mouth, refocusing and reconsolidating itself back into the bottle on the lanyard around Sakura's neck. With the bottle refilled, the glow dies down and Sakura falls limp.

Lycan leans in closer towards Sakura, examining his fainted Card Captor. To no surprise of Lycan's, Sakura opens her eyes. Lacking either her normal exuberance or the tainted orange glare of the Elixir of Fire in her eyes, Sakura's eyes are covered over with pitch black pupils, as a new power takes control of her. Her voice cracks and groans as she begins to speak.

"I-I-… I will… do your bidding… Kaos-sama…" Sakura mutters.

Lycan squints with a sense of accomplishment. "First, end Mirage. Her treachery has set us back too far. Make her power yours to command…" Lycan instructs monotonously.

The strands around Sakura's arms recede, allowing Sakura to fall to her knees. The strands retract into Lycan's body, but not before one of the strands snakes across the forest floor and grabs hold of the Nightmare, holding it up for Sakura to grab. Sakura responds by slowly but surely picking the Nightmare up, into her hands.

After a moment of standing statue-still, Sakura quickly takes the Nightmare into both hands and spins backwards, cleaving the sickle right through a thick tree behind her. The tree trunk explodes into fragments of wood around the area of the impact, and a Sakura-looking silhouette that was apparently leaning backwards against the opposite side of the shattered tree is thrown forwards by the explosive impact.

Lycan paces forward in the direction of the fallen Sakura-looking girl and he lowers his head. "You've evaded us for too long, Mirage. But we need your powers back. The time approaches quickly."

Mirage struggles back to her feet, leaning against another tree to pull herself up and lean her shoulder against. While getting up her eyes meet with Lycan's red stare, causing her to stand stiffly still, trapped like a rat in Lycan's deep stare. "Lycan-sama…" she mutters faintly. She turns back away and tries to run, but she collapses on her hands and knees in sore exhaustion, breathing heavily.

Sakura paces towards Mirage in a complete trance. With the Nightmare in hand, she twirls the halberd around with two hands until it transforms back into the skull-tipped Key of Kaos.

The next thing Mirage realizes is that she is being tugged to her feet from behind, being dragged up by the collar of her sweater and turned to face her pursuer.

"Turn and face me. I want to see your eyes close shut one last time before you are sealed…" Lycan's voice says to Mirage, but only on closer inspection did Mirage realize that Sakura was actually the one who just spoke. Mirage also stares into Sakura's eyes, blacked out completely by the effect of Dominion.

"You…" Mirage begins, looking back at Lycan. "You used Dominion on your own Card Captor? You're unforgivable! You're insane!" she chides, despite clearly being in no position to say anything against Lycan.

Lycan lets out a low and incredibly disturbing chuckle of amusement. "There is no such thing as 'sane' and 'insane'. There are but two factions of all beings in the universe: those who are powerful, and those who are not. At least _one_ of us knows where they stand…"

That is the last thing Mirage hears before a beak of bone collides with her forehead. Her eyes glass over and her body glows of orange energy. "Help… me… Gin-sama…" she whispers softly before getting cut off on account of her body dissolving into magical energy and then taking the form of a card, which subsequently floats into the walking-comatose Sakura's right hand.

After Mirage had reverted back to being a Kaos Card, Lycan shuts his eyes in the silence of the moment. "However, Mirage, power is never absolute. Those with power are so because they strive to become even _more_ powerful. It is often dangerous, indeed, but always necessary. And for the powers of Kaos to increase once again, there are but two more pieces of the puzzle to collect…"

Sakura holds up the Mirage Card. It shows the image of a hook-toothed bat with wing membranes that turn into fire at the edges.

--

Syaoran lowers his Inferno Crossbow's aim and lets his arm hang down as he stares on in shock. "Yue…" he says softly.

Syaoran and Yue remain locked in their gazes at each other.

"You…" Yue answers Syaoran back.

Damien folds his muscular, scaly arms. "Well, I see you've met the Little Wolf already. I guess that saves me the trouble of introducing you two."

Yue turns his head sharply in Damien's direction. "Are you trying to tell me that Li Syaoran is the Little Wolf that you've hired as your Card Captor?" he asks loudly.

"Of course. 'Riteru Wurufu' in my tongue translates to 'Xiao Lang' in yours, after all. Why? Jealous much?" Damien asks coyly, his arms folded smugly over his chest.

Yue turns away from Damien and stares Syaoran down again. "Hmph, hardly. I defeated Li Syaoran in his sad attempt at passing the Final Judgment. I'm just noticing how you _lesser _Guardians have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for your Card Captors." Yue refocuses his piercing stare back on Damien.

Syaoran raises an eyebrow. "Y'know, I'm standing right here…" he intervenes meekly.

"You won't be standing for much longer, Xiaolang…" a thunderous voice echoes out from all around, catching everyone there by surprise, with Syaoran being far from the least shocked.

Damien turns his head around rapidly. "Lycan! It's you! What do you want, now?!" he calls out.

Yue rolls his eyes. "_This _ought to be good…" he remarks sarcastically.

Tomoyo is startled to the bone. Surrounded by a warped forest and with violently powerful Guardian Beasts all around her, she backs up against a tree for a speck of refuge.

Yue remains still, his eyes closed and his arms folded, hardly intimidated, much less impressed.

Syaoran points his Inferno Crossbow out into the woods. Not seeing anything, he paces slowly and cautiously outside the crater, keeping his guard up and all six of his senses as sharp as daggers. Still seeing nothing around, he turns back towards Tomoyo, Yue, and Damien, but all of a sudden, he is brought to his knees by a sharp jab in the back of his knees, forcing him down, accompanied with an arm wrapping around his neck.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing?!" Tomoyo calls out, though not getting a response from Syaoran's speechless assailant.

Syaoran begins to realize who had jumped him as he feels a slender, sweater-clothed arm around his neck. He vainly grabs at the yet unidentified figure's arm, trying to pull his head up and struggle against the grip, but he can't budge his attacker an inch. He begins to run short of breath as his face tightens.

Sakura had caught Syaoran in a tight, left-armed headlock, while holding up the Nightmare's scythe in her right hand. She brings the blade closer and closer to Syaoran's neck at a tediously slow yet methodical pace. Syaoran takes note of the approaching blade with wide eyes.

Damien stares a hole through Sakura, having seen her face for the very first time, and being caught in deep shock. "No… _She's_ the Cherry Blossom that Lycan chose as his Card Captor? It can't be her… Anyone but _her_…" Damien mutters under his breath.

Yue overhears Damien's muttered musings. "What is thatsupposed to mean?" he asks.

The shady darkness pours out of the forest and assumes Lycan's enormous form, beside Sakura and Syaoran. Lycan leans his head down once again to come into eye contact with his audience, but particularly glaring at Damien. "Heh heh heh… I _told _Xiaolang that he wouldn't be standing for much longer. Brought to his knees by his 'true number one'. How poetic," Lycan begins, basking in the overflowing irony.

Yue unfolds his arms and examines Lycan's figure for the first time. "So you're this 'Lycan' I've been hearing so much about. Though I can't say I'm impressed if all you can do is rematerialize out of the shadows in an attempt to frighten me. But hearing that you are yet another part of this conspiracy to steal my master is inexcusable," Yue tells Lycan. Meanwhile, he draws his hand through the air, leaving a blue arc of cold fire. He grabs hold of this arc like a bow with his left hand, and holds his right hand up to the sky. In his right hand appears a meter-long white arrow, made of pure and refined magical energy, which Yue methodically draws over his bow. Taking aim at Lycan's mask, Yue releases the magic arrow. The arrow quickly sings through the air and it scores a devastating hit, impaling Lycan's right eye and causing him to scream out with an ear-splitting roar as he flails his head. As Lycan thrashes about like a wounded animal, most of the length of the arrow sticks out of Lycan's mask.

Damien leans his head over Yue's shoulder. "Well, you've got some serious guts to pull something like that off…"

Yue shuts his eyes and cracks the resemblance of a smile. "Why, thank you," he answers aloofly.

Damien leans away from Yue in response. "But not a lot of brains! You just took a potshot at the one who holds all the cards!" Damien retorts.

Momentarily, Lycan ceases his charade of thrashing around and stares ahead with his remaining red eye fixed on Yue. With a dark bellow of rage and madness, the white arrow sinks slowly into Lycan's eye like quicksand, much to even Yue's astonishment, as Lycan's eye appears to swallow the arrow whole, and in disturbing fashion to boot. After the arrow had fully vanished into Lycan's eye, Lycan appears to blink with his left eye until the red glow returns.

"And how right you are, Damien," Lycan responds. "Well, maybe not _all_ the cards yet, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. First, I've been waiting and waiting to speak to this Yue for a very, very long time…"

Yue stares on blankly, but he tries his best to maintain his stoic poker face. "So you have _some _power, Lycan. Frankly, from all that I've heard of you, I would be disappointed if that _did _work."

Lycan chuckles at Yue. "Well then I'm glad that I don't disappoint your high expectations. I sincerely wish I had the opportunity to further demonstrate my full capabilities. But, alas, I'm here on strict business," he explains, before returning his attention to his fellow Guardian of Kaos. "Damien, you couldn't even _find _a being capable of defeating me. How pitiful. And yet, how desperate. I told you that the despair would be yours, did I not? Witness how my promises ring true…" he says, turning his head slightly in the direction of Syaoran and the possessed Sakura.

At the conclusion of Lycan's semi-rant, Sakura monotonously reaffirms her chokehold on Syaoran, causing him to cough and gasp for air. At this reapplication of Sakura's choke, Syaoran's shirt brushes up against something rigid and misshapen under Sakura's sweater. All he can feel from it is a pulsation of warmth. Coming to the realization of the implications, his slowly closing eyelids snap wide open.

Syaoran powers through his suffocation, eventually muscling himself to his feet with pure adrenaline and a blood-curdling shout, much to everyone's surprise. Having stood to his feet fully, thus also lifting Sakura off her own feet and putting her whole weight on his throat, Syaoran quickly backs straight into a tree behind him. Sakura's head smashes into the tree and suddenly her grip falls limp. Sakura falls to the ground unconscious, while Syaoran plummets to his knees, sucking in some much-needed breaths of fresh air. But after Syaoran regains his lost wind, he turns straight towards Lycan and lances a stare right into his abyssal form.

"What did you do to her, Lycan?!" Syaoran shouts forcefully. "You did something to Sakura to take control of her. I know you did! The way you manipulate your own Card Captor is disgusting!"

Lycan turns his head sharply, his red eyes meeting with Syaoran's amber pupils for a split second before Syaoran finds himself sailing backwards, with three fresh slash marks across his t-shirt. "One at a time, Xiaolang, heh heh heh…" Lycan chides sadistically, though he shows no signs of actually having to have lifted a limb to throw his attack, as if he lashed out at Syaoran with his very will.

Tomoyo clasps her hand over her mouth, trying not to scream out and draw unnecessary attention to herself, lest she join Sakura and Syaoran comatose on the ground.

"So effortless…" Damien mutters in astonishment.

Yue paces past Damien, closer to Lycan. "I'll finish this-" Yue begins before he feels a burning grip around his arm. Looking back, he sees Damien grabbing forcefully at his arm, his sheer muscle strength enough to snap Yue's comparatively frail arm in half, were it not for Yue's magically-superhuman fortitude.

Damien snarls at Yue. "And what do you think _you_ can do, Reed-lover? He tossed the Little Wolf around like a rag doll, and he didn't even move a muscle to do it. Face it, you don't stand a chance."

Yue shakes his arm free of Damien's grip and butts foreheads with the fiery-tempered Guardian of Kaos. "I'm getting really tired of that Reed-lover thing, you cur…"

"What's the matter?" Damien snaps back. "You realized that you're truly powerless when it comes fulfilling your sworn duty to protect your new master? Or are you just afraid that _you're_ the obsolete one and not me?"

"Obsolete?!" Yue asks in astonished shock. "How DARE you!"

"How dare _I_?" Damien replies. "How dare _you_, you despicable, ignorant, callous sonofa-"

"STOP IT!" a shrill girl's voice yells out over Yue's and Damien's bickering. Suddenly, all conscious eyes fall on a hyperventilating Tomoyo.

"Why are you two fighting? Sakura-chan and Li-kun are in danger, and all you two care about is your petty rivalry because your respective masters didn't like each other?" Tomoyo says accusingly towards Damien and Yue equally. "Between the two of you, you're four centuries old, yet you're babbling about like a couple of four-_year_-olds." She then focuses her attentions toward Damien. "Damien-san, you say that you don't want Sakura-chan to get hurt. You told me that the plan that Kaos Gin gave to you required Sakura-chan to live. I can't say I agree with your motives, but I don't want Sakura-chan to be hurt either, so can we at least share that much of a common goal for just this _once_? We all share a common enemy, and while I can't help Yue-san fight Lycan, _you_ can."

Damien leans his head down in frustrated shame.

Tomoyo then refocuses on Yue. "Yue-san, I'll admit to not knowing anything about who Clow Reed really was, or wasn't, or what he was like. But that's not important. It's admirable that you defend your creator's name, but what would he say to you if you let Sakura-chan get hurt because you were too busy defending his honor? Yue-san, I beg of you to put off this rivalry with Damien. You both need each other's help because no matter how strong Clow-san created you, you're both stronger as a team than you are as individuals."

Damien smugly folds his arms and immaturely sticks his tongue out at Yue, only for Yue's hand to fly up and grab a crippling hold of Damien's tongue and twist it like a rag, causing Damien to shout out loudly.

In the background, Lycan squints his eyes narrowly, mentally focusing in on Tomoyo. "_The girl is wise beyond her years. I'd best keep an eye on her. She could pose a threat to Lord Kaos' plan later…_" Lycan thinks to himself.

"_Indeed…_"

Lycan hears the subtle, dark voice in the back of his mind. "_Lord Kaos? You have never contacted me while on an assignment before. Have our plans changed again?_"

"_No, no, no, all is as it should be. But do keep an eye on the Daidouji girl. Your suspicions are right, that she could threaten the plan._"

"_Should I eliminate her?_"

"_No, leave her be, for now. Simply retrieve the objective, conduct your transaction, and return. It is not time yet. And dangerous things happen to those who deviate from the plan…_"

"_Case in point, what should be done about my… partner? He seems to be in a less-than-cooperative mood._"

"_Yes, yes, hence my change in plan. At any rate, our primary objective is to retrieve the last card. It is imperative that we acquire it soon. Do whatever you need, barring your own destruction, to get it back. If you are lost now, everything is for naught._" 

"_Heh… Trust me, I'm not too worried about that. These… children can't even touch me._"

"_Then you are a fool, to underestimate Damien, Yue, and above all… Xiaolang._"

"_With all due respect, Xiaolang is but a little boy. I do not fear him._"

"_I assure you, you have never encountered a being quite like Xiaolang in your long, illustrious existence. As you know full well, the most dangerous individual is the one who feels he has nothing to lose. So congratulations for creating your own worst enemy._"

"_Permission to terminate?_"

"_If the need arises …eliminate the disposable resistance_._ Few expenses can be spared, as time continues to run thin._"

"_Understood._"

The red glow returns to Lycan's eyes as he departs from his trance, only to find Yue and Damien staring him down with an ice arrow and a fire javelin in hand respectively.

Damien glances at Yue out the corner of his eye. "What do you say we get this party started?" Damien beckons toyingly.

"Just try to keep up," Yue retorts with a return glance.

Lycan lowers himself to the ground, bracing himself for combat. "Meh heh heh heh heh heh heh… I've been waiting and waiting for an excuse to get my claws dirty for a _loooooong _time. Keep an eye out, Damien. I'll pluck what I want from your ashes if I have to."

Yue keeps his eyes fixed with Lycan. "What is he talking about?"

Damien likewise keeps his eyes glued on Lycan's slippery, shady form. "I've got a pretty good idea," he answers, nodding his head confidently.

"Care to share?" Yue asks.

"Later!" Damien responds back quickly.

Before Damien can answer properly, Lycan takes off in a long lunge towards Damien and Yue. Damien takes an over-handed swing at Lycan with his spear, but before he connects, Lycan's form splits off into several specter-like copies that all dodge the attack before dissipating into the air, sending Damien's lunging swing straight into the ground. Before Damien can pull his spear back up, he finds himself planted face-first into the dirt, courtesy of a slash across the back.

Yue notices Damien fall over, but still can't find Lycan's exact location. He quickly chops through the air with his hand, leaving a blue, bowlike streak, which he grabs a hold of. Raising the one arrow in his hand above his head, the arrow quickly replicates repeatedly until an entire quiver of blue arrows fills his hand. He draws the entire handful of arrows across his bow simultaneously, aiming it about and looking for Lycan. However, Yue meets a similar fate as Damien, planted by a slash out of nowhere from behind.

Damien struggles to his feet, as does Yue. Damien grits his fanged teeth in frustration as he smashes his reptilian fist into the ground. "Grr, this is getting us absolutely nowhere!"

"How right you are, Guardian of Destruction," Lycan's voice echoes out across the forest sadistically.

As Yue and Damien continue to keep Lycan somewhat occupied, Tomoyo leapfrogs behind the trees, keeping her distance from the actual combat, all while working her way to Syaoran. Slinking out from behind the tree which Syaoran had been slammed against by Lycan earlier, Tomoyo grabs hold of Syaoran by the shoulders, shaking him as firmly as she can. "Please, Li-kun, Yue-san and Damien-san need your help. Sakura-chan needs your help. Lycan is fighting against Yue-san and Damien-san right now, and they're both losing."

During the battle, as Damien climbs fully to his feet, his pupils suddenly blank out, causing him to freeze in place. Yue notices.

"And if Yue-san and Damien-san lose…" Tomoyo continues, hopelessly explaining the situation to a still comatose Syaoran. "…then something terrible will happen to Sakura-chan. Li-kun, I know you can hear me. Please wake up."

"What?! Damien, what happened?" Yue vainly asks Damien concerning his sudden statue-like state before Yue's eyes also go black, causing him to hang his head back and levitate limply in midair.

Tomoyo continues to shake Syaoran weakly by the shoulders until she finally sees faint signs of Syaoran twitching his fingers. Tomoyo's eyes open wide, but before she can examine Syaoran closely, her eyes open even wider as an arm wraps around her neck and a strong yet slender hand covers her mouth. "MAMUMAMAAM!" Tomoyo shouts through the muffling hand covering her mouth. Sakura had regained consciousness, somewhat, and had ambushed Tomoyo, putting her in a headlock and gagging her with her bare hands. Tomoyo can only watch as deep quadruped footprints pace slowly in her direction, followed by Lycan's slowly materializing form.

Lycan leans in towards Tomoyo. "Well, well. Look who wants to play heroine. Normally, a mere human would be below my attentions, but right now I'm on strict orders. I can't have you waking up Xiaolang so he can ruin all my fun, now can I? You're a smart girl. Of course you understand, don't you?" Lycan patronizes. With a shift in the direction of the shine in Lycan's red eyes, Sakura takes the cue to take her hand off Tomoyo's speechless mouth and to loosen the chokehold.

Tomoyo breathes heavily at first. "You're nothing but a cowardly bully! I'm not afraid of you! What did you do to Sakura-chan?"

Lycan tilts his head, closely examining the pitiful human girl at his mercy. "I assure you, one without magical powers would not understand my subtleties. In fact, those _with _magic can rarely appreciate my … artistic design."

"Artistic design, you call it?! Gimme' a break!" Tomoyo snaps back. "Pottery is an artistic design. Painting is an artistic design. Fashion engineering is an artistic design. Taking control of an innocent girl's brain for your own amusement is just plain sadistic!"

"Heheheh… _innocent_…" Lycan snickers. "You humans love to throw that word around. Makes you feel less guilty for the shame and the pain you harbor. For the darkness that lies within every human soul. Within Kinomoto Sakura, as well as within you. Your pain is that the one you love more than anything in the world will never, ever reciprocate. So you 'get your kicks', as it were, by playing matchmaker in some sick little head game. It eats you away inside because, in your heart of hearts, you know the truth. You know what I'm talking about… Daidouji Tomoyo…"

Tomoyo shakes her head back and forth. "Shut up, Lycan! SHUT UP! You're wrong! I don't hate Sakura-chan because she doesn't love me, too! As long as she's with the one that makes her happy, I'm happy too! And that's something you'd _never_ understand!"

"What a load of tripe…" Lycan mocks with disgust. "You can't hide your fear. Your fear that those you love dearly will leave you behind as they tire of your presence. You stay awake at night… _every _night… wondering if that's the same reason your _father _left you…"

"You leave him out of this!!!" Tomoyo shouts out furiously, her eyes brimming with tears of rage against Lycan.

"Oh?" Lycan asks quizzically, leaning in towards Tomoyo. "Well why… don't… you… _make me_?"

"Hey!" a boy's voice shouts out, turning Lycan's and Tomoyo's heads to the side.

A fair distance away, Syaoran leans weakly against a tree with his hair a mess and his shirt in scraped and dirty tatters. His Inferno Crossbow is fully armed and aimed squarely at Lycan.

"I believe the young lady told you to shut up," Syaoran tells Lycan coyly.

"Li-kun!" Tomoyo calls out with overjoyed relief and an ear-to-ear smile all over her face, cut off when Sakura forcefully tosses her aside, at which point she frantically scampers over to Syaoran's side.

Lycan looks in Syaoran's direction with the semblance of astonishment. "_How is it possible that he is still standing… again!? …Is this what Lord Kaos was warning me about?_" Lycan thinks to himself, trying to conceal his shock with his excessive stoic bravado. "You intend to intimidate me in vain, Xiaolang. Your Guardians are now victims of one of my _personal_ favorite spells, the Daidouji girl is worthless against my power, and Kinomoto Sakura is my slave. The fact remains that you are all alone. What, then, do you possibly expect to do with that _peashooter_ you call a Key of Kaos?"

Syaoran cracks a lopsided, exhausted grin as he grabs hold of his sore side with his free hand. "Sakura isn't your slave, Lycan. With the Elixir, she won't take barking orders from you, or anyone else for that matter. But without the Elixir of Fire, she can't stand the very sight of you. Y'know, she's terrified of ghosts and specters. She told me so herself once. Which can mean only one thing: you cast the Dominion Card on her."

"Well aren't we the young sleuth?" Lycan humors Syaoran, leaning his head over Sakura's shoulder as the zombified Sakura stares Syaoran down as well. "But what can you do about it? You said so yourself. You don't want to cause Kinomoto Sakura any pain. And you can't harm me, even if you tried. It's lose-lose, Xiaolang."

Syaoran pulls out a rolled-up ofuda out of his pocket. "That's not a problem. Haven't you heard? Sometimes, you have to hurt the ones you love to show them that you care."

Lycan's eyes widen. "What are you doing?"

Syaoran holds up the ofuda in his right hand and releases it. The parchment unravels flat on its own as the symbols burnt into Syaoran's palm glow with a thin red aura. As the ofuda flattens out, Syaoran balls up his right fist and braces his aim with his left arm. "Summon: Steed of Poseidon!" Syaoran declares.

The Inferno Crossbow fires a red spear straight through the ofuda, but passing through the ofuda changes the spear into a wide burst of water that takes the rough shape of a snake. It rushes straight towards Sakura, who stands completely still, and the hard impact knocks her backwards. She rolls away, her now-wet sweater rolling through the forest covers her sweater in a thin mud.

"The Rites of Kaos!" Lycan exclaims.

"Rites of Kaos?" Tomoyo asks.

Syaoran nods, holding up his right palm for Lycan to see. "That's right, Lycan. It's the same magic Clow Reed used to defeat Kaos Gin from the story.

--

(flashback)

In Syaoran's apartment, Syaoran reaches up onto a high shelf with the help of a stepladder to retrieve a worn-out manuscript. He quickly flips through the pages before descending down the stepladder.

"_The night I came home after capturing Chimera and Plague, the same night I first saw you, I realized that what Sakura and I were up against wasn't just a myth. So I looked deeper into the story. It said that Clow Reed used a similar ritual of scarring his own hand to augment his own magic to be most effective against Kaos_."

Syaoran walks off while continuing to skim through the thin book.

--

(end flashback)

"I needed some magic…" Syaoran explains, "…that could defeat the Kaos magic, but wouldn't harm Sakura greatly. So I went back to Clow Reed himself for the answer."

"You call _that_ your answer?" Lycan asks sharply. "You knocked Kinomoto Sakura down hard with that blast. You could have killed her. It seems then that you've gotten incredibly desperate."

Syaoran points past Lycan, into the trees. "Possibly, but from the looks of your card over there, it looks like my attack took more of a toll on _it_ than on Sakura."

"What?" Lycan wheels his head around to see a man-sized grey shadowlike jellyfish, hanging pitifully in the trees next to him, like a horridly-mutated wayward kite. Its enormously long yet thin white and slimy tentacles trail all the way back to an unconscious Sakura, where a few of the tendrils still remain, magically-permeating Sakura's back, into her heart. Most, however, have fallen out, and the few that do remain seem to hang in just barely.

"Dominion!" Lycan bellows furiously, swinging his head to stare Syaoran down. "Don't think this changes anything, Xiaolang! Even your pathetic Rites of Kaos cannot stop-"

"_Fall back, Lycan,_" a voice in Lycan's head interjects, cutting off Lycan's train of thought. Syaoran and Tomoyo make clear note of Lycan's pause.

"What?!" Lycan remarks aloud, completely freezing in place. The air around the ground grows into a thick, cold fog, blanketing the entire forest as far as any eye can see. The shadows around Lycan begin to creep up from the forest and grab at Lycan's ankles, slowly pulling him through a foggy portal on the ground. "No, Lord Kaos, NO! I can finish this! I can still make this work! I am NOT DEFEATED YET!" Lycan roars out, but the shadows continue to drag Lycan down, through the fog,

"_Yes, Lycan. You are. Return now, lest our mission be jeopardized._"

"Lord Kaos, you're making a grave mistake!"

"_Oh, I highly doubt that…_"

Oblivious to the second voice, Syaoran holds up his right arm to cautiously shield Tomoyo, while simultaneously watching Lycan sink into the pit-like fog that thickly coats the forest floor.

"Li-kun… who is Lycan talking to?" Tomoyo asks nervously.

Syaoran remains completely silent and motionless to Tomoyo's question.

Lycan, having sunk into the fog up to his shoulders, reaches out of the portal to grab hold of the ground, pulls himself up, and shoots one last glare in Syaoran's direction. "Grrraaah! Don't think you've won this. Mark my words, Li Xiaolang. I will be back, and I'll have your head!" Lycan's claws begin to slip through the dirt as Lycan slowly and reluctantly continues his descent.

Syaoran motions to Tomoyo to stand back, and Syaoran grabs another rolled-up ofuda from the front pocket of his pants. Syaoran aims the Inferno Crossbow at Lycan. "But in the meantime, I guess I'll have to settle for having _your _head." Syaoran opens his palm and the ofuda unrolls in midair. "Summon: Fist of Ares!" Syaoran declares, firing a bolt from the Inferno Crossbow at Lycan. The red shot passes through the ofuda and comes out the other end as a cannonball-sized fireball with a flaming comet-like tail.

The fireball impacts against Lycan's mask and explodes violently, and though it does no actual damage to Lycan, the shockwave of the attack knocks Lycan's grip loose, blasting apart the ground around Lycan. Lycan's claws helplessly slip through the ashen dust as he is dragged into the portal. Lycan lets out a last menacing roar as his claws and mask sink down into the fog. Brief moments after the completion of Lycan's slow and tedious plunge, the fog clears, which reveals the ground below where Lycan stood to have closed up behind him. Near the spot where Syaoran had shot the supercharged fireball that ultimately sent Lycan reeling, the muddy ground along that area had dried up completely, leaving an arid patch of dirt.

Tomoyo lets out a deep sigh of relief as she leans back against a tree. "Phew! I thought we were all goners there for a minute!"

Syaoran maintains a skeptical posture as he looks around the woods. The shadows around the edges of the forest and above the treetops begin to dissipate faintly, allowing small cracks of light to peek through. But the decay rate of the shadows is very slow. "Without Lycan, the shadows are disappearing. And with them gone, there's just one thing left to do."

Syaoran dashes towards Sakura's body, where the slimy grey jellyfish continues to detangle itself from the tree and snake its tentacles back into Sakura's heart. Syaoran aims his Inferno Crossbow high into the trees, where the Dominion's main body rests. "Return to your original form: Kaos Card!" Syaoran calls out, a bullet from the Inferno Crossbow easily harpooning the helpless Kaos Card like a fork through a rotten tomato. The Dominion squeals and thrashes about for a bit, finally withdrawing its incredibly long tendrils from Sakura's back as its entire form begins to glow a bright orange. The orange light energy condenses up into a card-like form high in the trees. When the card ceases glowing, it floats down out of the trees, effortlessly into Syaoran's hand.

Syaoran observes the card, seeing first of all his name in kanji at the bottom edge, seemingly branded into the card. The portrait of the card's main body shows the jellyfish-like life form with tentacles hanging down. Within the center body of the jellyfish rests a cracked heart. Syaoran smiles with a satisfied gratification, but his inner joy is cut off as he sees an orange flicker out the corner of his eye, accompanied by a shrill scream.

"Li-kun! Watch OUT!" Tomoyo yells out.

Syaoran turns around, but the next thing he knows, he is pinned against a tree by the neck by a high tennis shoe. He feels the plastic-like material rub roughly at his neck as he sees Sakura holding him up with a flexibly-raised high leg. Sakura hangs her head down, but she sharply glares up at Syaoran, revealing an all-too-familiar burning shine in her eyes and a sickly toothy grin across her face.

"I should probably be thanking you, shounen," Sakura begins, "…for getting that monkey off my back. But then again, now that you've collected your third Kaos Card, that puts us in a bit of a precarious situation. After all, you know what happens to the Card Captor who snags Card #7, don't you?" she asks, turning her head slightly.

Tomoyo desperately tries to tug Sakura backwards, getting her to let Syaoran go, but Sakura effortlessly swats her away like a gnat, sending her hurtling to the ground.

"Back off, Mouse. The Shounen and I are talking about big-people stuff now," Sakura remarks coyly.

With Sakura's attention diverted for just a split second, Syaoran leans against the tree for support and delivers a would-be devastating double-legged mule kick up Sakura's jaw, knocking her head up and breaking Sakura's bind on his neck with her foot. However, after stumbling back and shaking her head back and forth a few times, Sakura stares back up at Syaoran quickly.

Syaoran climbs back to his feet, grabbing a sore hold of his neck and abdomen. "So, you're back again?" Syaoran asks rhetorically, his eyes meeting head-on with Sakura's. "What is it going to take to get you to leave the _real _Sakura alone?!" he asks with a low-toned and sore frustration.

Sakura wipes a smudge of dirt off her jaw. "Oh, about as much as it'll take you to realize that this isn't just some loser possession magic. The Elixir of Fire really _is _me. And the sooner you get that through your thick skull, the easier things will be for the both of us."

Syaoran shakes his head. "No. No, you're not the real Sakura. It doesn't matter that you're not possessed. You're just simply not in your right mind." 

Sakura smugly folds her arms. "Oh, well that changes _everything_ now, doesn't it?" she asks, grabbing gentle hold of Syaoran's chin and tilting his head to meet with her stare. "Look, Shounen. Whatever you thought was real about me, I'd suggest you re-think it. This is how I am. How I _really_ am. I'm not going back to being your weakling little damsel in distress. I like it this way. For every time when we collected the Clow Cards that _you _were always the better magician, for every time _you _were the know-it-all, for every time _you _had to come to _my _rescue-"

"Now who's clinging to the past?" Syaoran interrupts, shoving Sakura away forcefully. Syaoran re-arms his Inferno Crossbow and aims it at Sakura's face, but before he can solidify his aim, his entire body begins to tire out and he falls helplessly to his knees, the bolt in the Inferno Crossbow disappearing as quickly as it had been summoned. The Inferno Crossbow collapses itself onto Syaoran's arm. All this elicits a sinister laugh from Sakura.

"Ha! I'm beating you to death, you pathetic Shounen, and you _still _can't raise a hand to me? Is your pathetic crush on me so strong that you can never hurt me? Because you just _love _me so much?" Sakura remarks sarcastically, huddling over Syaoran.

"No… you were right the first time…" Syaoran mutters in response, causing Sakura to look down at him in confusion. Syaoran stands to his feet and raises his eyes to meet Sakura's. "I _am _too weak to harm you. I guess I just don't love you as much as I thought…" Syaoran adds, only serving to cause Sakura to look back at him with even greater confusion.

"I guess comebacks aren't exactly your strong suit, eh Shounen?" Sakura hypothesizes, raising a high eyebrow.

Syaoran lowers his head slightly, and he notices Tomoyo crawling to her hands and knees behind Sakura, just leaning there and catching her breath. Syaoran then looks back up at Sakura with renewed determination. "But… maybe it's finally time I rectified that…" Syaoran mutters with a soft, hoarse tone.

With a burst of energy, Syaoran throws his weight against the tree behind him. He grabs onto two low-hanging branches on this tree and, with the tree as a support, he mule-kicks Sakura right in the stomach, straight backwards and over Tomoyo, tripping her over and landing her on her back. Syaoran lands and raises his forearm high. "Key of Kaos: Release!" he declares, causing the Inferno Crossbow wrapped around his arm to mutate once more. Syaoran struggles to retain his consciousness throughout the draining process, as his magical powers are being drained, stretched to their limits, and are still running on empty. Somehow, and with a loud scream, Syaoran whips his arm downwards as the Inferno Crossbow finishes its transformation and reloads with one last red bolt of energy.

Sakura struggles furiously to her feet as she reaches around her neck, pulling out her key. "Well, I see you've still got some gas left in the tank. Well I'll fix that. Key of Kaos: Release!" Sakura declares, as her star key pops right off the lanyard and it takes a larger and more mutated form of a skull-tipped Key of Clow. Sakura quickly twirls the key around like a baton before striking it against a Kaos Card before her. The wand in her hand rematerializes as the Nightmare, its cruel staff shimmering softly in the low light of the forest.

Sakura and Syaoran each point their respective weapons at each other, preparing to strike. Syaoran is the first to break his stare, as he notices the bright white fracture in the shadows around the forest. But as Syaoran's attentions are diverted for just that split second, Sakura takes the opportunity to jab Syaoran hard with the blunt end of the Nightmare's crescent blade. This clubbing slam causes Syaoran to cough out a small trickle of blood and forces him to grab hold of his sore ribs as he falls to his knees again. Syaoran finally gives out and falls backwards, but through sheer intestinal fortitude, he maintains the crimson arrow housed in the single-shot magazine of the Inferno Crossbow.

Sakura stands over Syaoran's fallen body. "You're spent, Shounen. You can't stand against both Lycie-chan _and _myself. Oh, if only your precious ancestor, Clow Reed, could see you now. What would he say to that, hm?" Sakura stomps on Syaoran's stomach, causing him to scream in agony again, as yet another trickle of blood splashes out his mouth. Sakura continues to repeatedly kick at Syaoran in the ribs and abdominal areas, but these taps are numb to Syaoran's already torturously-thrashed body. As Sakura finally tires of this, she takes a half-step back and raises up the Nightmare's long staff. At the short end of the staff is a long, knife-like tip, which Sakura raises high above Syaoran, preparing to finish him off once and for all. Sakura sneers at Syaoran, but before she can bring down the sharp tip, Syaoran just barely cracks a grin, which freezes Sakura in place.

Syaoran begins to giggle under his breath and through a hoarse cough. "Lycan wanted me dead… didn't he?"

Sakura's eyes widen. "…So? So what? What's your point?"

Syaoran places his palms on the ground and lifts his head off the ground. His hoarse snickering continues. "I _told_ Lycan that you're nobody's slave. Yet here you are, about to finish me off for good, when what you're really doing is just following orders like an attack dog. And I thought that this _real _you was above stuff like that."

Sakura grits her teeth at Syaoran's logic. "Happy coincidence," she remarks, before driving the metallic stake down on Syaoran.

Syaoran raises his right arm, with the Inferno Crossbow's bolt still active, and he blocks the thrust from the Nightmare. "There are no such things as coincidences in this world," Syaoran begins, climbing to his feet despite the incredible pressure put on him from Sakura's blade. "There is only _hitzusen_. …Is yours to be Lycan's puppet forever?" Having stood completely to his feet and nearly driving the Nightmare out of Sakura's hands, he swings his right arm powerfully backwards, forcing Sakura away and knocking the Nightmare clean out of Sakura's grip.

The force sends the Nightmare's blade hurtling into a tree, where Sakura hurries over to retrieve the blade. But before she can pull it out, she feels Syaoran's eyes watching her. With her hands on the Nightmare's staff, she swivels her head back towards Syaoran, who prepares to fire the Inferno Crossbow at her.

"What're you gonna' do, Shounen? Shoot me?" Sakura asks, calling Syaoran's bluff.

Syaoran stares on, somberly shaking his head. He holds up a Kaos Card in his free left hand, turning it around to reveal it's identity as the Chimera Card. "No, Sakura. Don't think of it as shooting. Think of it as discipline. Like a loving parent to their disobedient child." Syaoran reaches forward with the Chimera Card and touches it against the edge of the red bolt on the Inferno Crossbow. "Grant me the wings of the mighty albatross. Chimera!" The card dissipates and arcs behind Syaoran, shooting silver energy into his back. After the energy from the released Chimera finds its way into Syaoran's back, Syaoran's stretched, torn and tattered shirt begins to swell up with a growing hunch on Syaoran's back. Syaoran's t-shirt is torn apart spectacularly as a pair of pure white-feathered wings explode out of his back. Syaoran holds up the Inferno Crossbow to his bare chest, revealing its last shot to be spent.

Sakura leers back at Syaoran with uncertainty. "That was your last shot with the Inferno Crossbow, and you spend it growing _wings_?" she asks coyly. She grabs a solid hold on the Nightmare and tears it from the tree in which it was stuck, nearly ripping the tree's trunk apart. She places an aggressive double-handed grip on the Nightmare, preparing to use it on Syaoran. "Now let's get those things off of you. Frankly, they make you look ridiculous."

Sakura lunges at Syaoran with the enormous blade, but Syaoran easily sidesteps the absolutely livid Sakura as he flies up into the tree that Sakura was standing under. Syaoran looks down with endearment at Sakura.

"Your anger is getting you nowhere," Syaoran remarks.

Sakura turns around to see Syaoran perched in the very tree that Sakura nearly tore apart by pulling the Nightmare out of it. She looks up at Syaoran deviously. "And your stupidity is about to get you killed!" she exclaims, lunging after the half-shattered tree trunk with the Nightmare. The Nightmare's blade crunches into the tree, nearly slicing all the way through what's left of the tree trunk, but the blade gets stuck in the wood. Sakura blindly attempts to pull the blade out of the tree, but it tears the tree down in her direction. Syaoran quickly bounds out of the tree, but Sakura is so blinded in her rage that she doesn't notice the tree collapsing down on her. The tree lands with a loud thud, and the tree trunk crashes down hard, right over Sakura's head.

Syaoran floats above the one-tree deforestation below, watching somberly as a subtle orange glow is cast on the ground from under the tree. Syaoran then quickly swoops down to the ground, where he finds Sakura knocked unconscious and pinned down by the tree trunk that fell on her. Upon closer examination, he can see an orange fluid slowly pouring out of Sakura's eyes and mouth, flowing down towards a glass lanyard bottle, where the fluid flows into under its own power. As the last of the Elixir of Fire leaves Sakura's eyes and mouth, the bottle which the elixir flows into seals up with the high-pitched clank of glass on glass. The orange energy swirls around in the skull-shaped bottle as the eye socket areas let out one last bronze flicker of light before all the glowing in the bottle subsides.

With a wide smile, Syaoran lifts up the foot thick tree trunk and pulls Sakura's body out from under it, dragging her out from under the fallen log before finally shoving it aside. Syaoran gently cradles Sakura in his arms and he smiles down at her with endearment. He runs a slender finger over Sakura's cheek, clearing her slightly muddied hair off her angelically soft face.

Sakura's eyelids twitch about before they finally crack a small ways open. Sakura's untainted emerald eyes finally emerge from behind her heavy eyelids as she looks up. The first thing she sees is a bright light, followed by a shirtless, rugged, winged, and thoroughly-beaten Syaoran leaning over her.

"Are… Are you… an angel?" Sakura whispers softly and innocently, reaching up weakly, but letting her arm fall back at her side.

Syaoran holds back torrents of joyful tears as Sakura's gentleness had finally returned to her, and thus his nightmare had finally ended. He bites his lip and shakes his head. He chokes on his own words for a moment before answering Sakura. "No. No, I'm no angel. I'm just another guy," Syaoran answers back, gently rubbing a muddy smudge off Sakura's cheek. "You're the real angel here. Please, don't ever leave like that again…" he begs softly, not entirely sure of whether or not Sakura can hear him, but at the moment not really caring much either.

Syaoran lets his heavy eyelids close shut as he keels over in exhaustion, the Chimera-generated wings vanishing in a puff of feathers. But as soon as Syaoran falls over, Sakura opens her eyes fully and leans up in Syaoran's lap. Sakura reaches down towards Syaoran and grabs at his shoulders, shaking him.

"Li-kun? Li-kun? Are you okay?" Sakura asks innocently, showing absolutely no signs of fatigue, as if waking up from a restful nap. Syaoran remains exhaustedly limp, despite Sakura's attempts to wake him.

Tomoyo paces up beside Sakura and places a hand on her shoulder. "Li-kun will be fine. He's just been through a lot. But you've been through a lot yourself. How are _you_ feeling?"

Sakura jumps to her feet exuberantly and flexes a muscle. "I'm feeling great! Despite all my clothes being damp and muddy, I feel like a million yen!" Sakura cracks a cheesy smile, but she and Tomoyo both turn their heads to the side at the sound of a deep, amused chuckle.

"You really are the Cherry Blossom," Damien answers, pacing slowly through the trees, with Yue's arm hung over his shoulders. Yue paces beside Damien, leaning on him for balance, though with an expression of utter contempt on his face aimed squarely at Damien.

Sakura points up at Damien, covering her mouth with her hand in fear. "W-wh-who's that? Who are you?!" she asks Damien fearfully.

Tomoyo holds her arm out in Damien's direction, to introduce the fearsome-looking creature at Yue's side. "Sakura-chan, this is Damien-san. He and Li-kun have been fighting hard against Lycan to keep you safe."

Damien raises an eyebrow. "That's an awfully crude summarization, Daidouji, but I'll allow it, given the circumstances," Damien retorts with a slighted tone.

Yue takes his arm off Damien's shoulder, but almost immediately he falls back against a tree. He breathes deeply in and out, looking around the forest, seeing the light cracks in the shade barrier getting wider and faster, breaching visibly to the outside. "It's over, I take it? Lycan is gone?" Yue asks.

Damien collapses to his knees in exhaustion, leaning back and supporting his weight on his shins and tail. He groans loudly. "Lycan gone? Heh, not by a long shot, Reed-lover. Though at least we're walking away with a moral victory. And we owe it all… to the Little Wolf," he explains. "Because without his Rites of Kaos and his determination to save the Cherry Blossom, we'd all still be at Lycan's mercy, as if he had any."

"Riteru… Wurufu?" Sakura asks in confusion, putting a Japanese accent on Damien's nomenclature for Syaoran.

"Xiao-Lang," Yue responds. "Damien comes from England. In his language, the Chinese name 'Xiao-Lang' translates to 'Riteru Wurufu'.

Sakura places a finger on her chin, pondering. "Hm… Shau… lan… guu… Shau… lan… Wait a sec, that's Li-kun's given name! Li Syaoran!"

Damien rolls his eyes. "For the record, I gave her points for _compassion_, not _insight_…"

"So, what about these Rites of Kaos?" Tomoyo asks. "I thought Li-kun burned those marks into his hand because he was upset about what happened with-"

"Upset about what?" Sakura asks naively, interrupting Tomoyo.

Damien sits fully on the ground, cross-legged. "The Rites of Kaos. Now that really takes me back. Those incantations… They're _just _like something Reed would've designed."

Yue glares at Damien out the corner of his eye. "What's _that_ supposed to mean? Is it supposed to be some kind of insult?"

Damien only chuckles. "Heh heh… No, not quite. The incantations of the Rites of Kaos are over two millennia old. They come from way back in Ancient Greece. 'Fist of _Ares_', 'Steed of _Poseidon_', 'Breath of _Artemis_', and the 'Lance of _Zeus_'. Reed figured that this magic would be so old and outdated that Lord Kaos wouldn't have seen it coming. And, as the blue moon was out that night… he was right."

"But there must've been plenty of powerful magicians from other times in the past…" Tomoyo postulates. "Why did Clow-san use Greek magic?"

"Because he was a nut!" Damien answers sharply. "The Clow Cards may have been Reed's profession, but Ancient Greek magic was his hobby, even bordering on an obsession. Heck, when it came time to name his first Guardian Beast, he named it after the ferocious three-headed hound from Hades. Heh heh… 'Cerberus'."

"Cerberus?" Tomoyo, Sakura, and Yue ask in a confused unison.

"Siro… Bur…" Sakura sounds out.

Tomoyo also tries to sound out the name. "Cera… Ceraber… C… Ker… Keraber-" Tomoyo interrupts herself as she attempts to contain a giggle, covering her mouth. Tomoyo cups her hand over a clueless Sakura's ear and whispers something to her that causes her to crack up also.

Sakura giggles immaturely. "So _that's _where he got his name from! I guess now we know."

"Poor Kero-chan…" Tomoyo responds.

Tomoyo's and Sakura's giggling is interrupted by a series of voices calling out through the forest.

"Sakura! Yuki!"

"Sakura-san! Daidouji-san! Tsukishiro-san!"

"Tomoyo-chan!"

"Syaoran-sama!"

At the sound of the voices calling through the cracks in the darkness, Damien raises his gaze. He sighs as he sorely stands to his feet. "Looks like some more humans are on their way. Which means there's no place here for me. You'd think I would've gotten used to it by now…" Damien muses to himself. He begins to dissolve into a fire that crawls up from the tips of his claws to up his arms, but before he vanishes entirely, he hears a call for his own name. 

"Wait, Damien-san!" Sakura calls to Damien urgently. In turn, Damien responds by rematerializing and looking down at Sakura.

Sakura looks up at Damien with puppy-dog eyes. "Before you go… thanks. Thank you for saving me from Lycan." Sakura calls up to Damien meekly.

Damien shuts his eyes and nods his head as he continues to burn away. "Don't thank me. It's not my thanks to accept. Thank the Little Wolf. When he comes to, tell him that I'm proud of him."

Sakura nods in compliance as Damien's entire body disappears into the flames, leaving but a gust of ash in his wake. The ashes blow away deep into the forest, as Sakura and Tomoyo watch on.

Yue leans off the tree and spreads his white wings across his body. "It's time I resumed my disguise as well. There are some who are expecting him."

The calls grow louder as the darkness surrounding the forest had almost completely dissipated. Replaced with them are a few beams of light from flashlights, and the familiar silhouette of the King Penguin in the far distance.

"Sakura!" Toya shouts out, popping out from behind a tree and shining his flashlight all over the area.

Syaoran is collapsed, shirtless, and unconscious. Tomoyo carries Syaoran's jean jacket over her shoulder and her camera in her other hand, somehow having kept a grip on it the whole time. A reverted Yukito leans unconsciously against a tree. And last but not least, Sakura shields her eyes from Toya's light. Her once light blue puffy sweater is now a limp, muddy mess, irrevocably ruined. Sakura's slightly muddy and damp hair sticks up in all directions, the ultimate bed-head.

Getting used to the new sensation of the light, Sakura lowers her arms and grins widely. "Ehehehehehe… uh, Big Brother… ehehehe… Whatever you think this looks like… this _isn't _it…"

Toya rolls his eyes as he kneels down in front of Sakura. He points his flashlight down and turns it off. Examining the abounding mess around them, he returns a glare to Sakura. "One of these days, _kaiju_, you're going to explain to me just what exactly happened here…" Toya warns ominously.

Sakura smiles back up at Toya, his normally-irritating chiding a welcome change from the same from Lycan. She wraps her arms tightly around Toya's neck and pulls herself closer. "Don't worry, Big Brother. Everything's fine now. I'm okay."

Toya protests against Sakura's hug, as her muddy sweater smudges his jacket. "Hey, cut that out!" he insists.

Another light shines through the forest, finding its way to Syaoran. Wei bursts out from around the trees, rushing towards the beaten boy. "Syaoran-sama! Syaoran-sama!" Wei calls out. He kneels down beside Syaoran and points Syaoran's body face-up. As Wei gently opens Syaoran's eyelids with his hand and shines his flashlight into Syaoran's eyes, Syaoran regains some consciousness and lifts up his left arm to shield his eyes. Wei is overjoyed at Syaoran's positive reaction.

Wei then gently rubs the back of his hand down Syaoran's abdomen, eliciting a sharp wincing expression on Syaoran's face. Wei's smile fades away. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. You exert your body so, Syaoran-sama."

Syaoran limply shakes his head. "But it was all worth it…" he whispers hoarsely.

Wei turns his head behind him. He sees Sakura frantically bowing in apology towards her brother and father, no-doubt receiving the chewing of a lifetime for staying out so late. However, fortunately for Sakura, Yukito stands in her corner, waving his arms frantically, apparently trying to dissuade Toya and Fujitaka from taking 'harsh action', and for the moment it appears to be working. Wei smiles at the sight, as while it still looks pretty bad for Sakura, he realizes that it could have been much worse. "Syaoran-sama, you are too kind."

Syaoran coughs hoarsely. "So I've heard…"

Tomoyo leans back against a tree, basking in the heart-warming reunions all around her, when she hears her own name shrieked out.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sonomi shouts, bursting out from the forest with such glee that she tosses her flashlight behind her. She jumps down onto her knees in front of Tomoyo and grabs the girl into a surprising and almost crushing hug. Sonomi cries out tears and tears of relieved joy. "Tomoyo-chan, I'm so glad I found you! I thought you had ran away for some reason, so I looked all over town, and I called Ms. Maki, and I called your friends, and then Mihara-san tipped me off that you might be around here and, and-and-and-and-" she hyperventilates.

Tomoyo reciprocates by gently placing her arms around her mother's neck and she hugs back. "Zettai daijobu, mother. I'm okay. _Everything's _okay." Tomoyo rests her head on her mother's shoulder, resting in the assurance of the truth of her friend's borrowed motto.

Indeed, everything was okay. Except for one individual, though…

--

(the dark void)

With a primal roar, Lycan plummets downward, endlessly on and on, his wings doing him no good at all. Suddenly, he lands hard on an ice-cold stone pillar. Lycan rattles his head about before looking over the edge, seeing the pillar stretch on for an eternity downwards.

"_Heh heh heh. Lycie-chan. It's catchy._"

"Lord Kaos!" Lycan roars. "I see. This must be the punishment for my failure. To endure the same torture I inflicted on Kinomoto Sakura. All because I failed to retrieve The Life."

"_Nonsense, Lycan._"

"What are you talking about? I failed in my mission. You told me to-"

"_I told you what you needed to know_."

"So… Li Xiaolang never needed to die?"

"_Hahahahaha… Of course not, Lycan. Such an attempt would be suicide. It was, after all, the Little Wolf that sent you packing to me in the first place._"

"What was the point then?!"

"_Everything is going according to plan, Lycan. I knew that the Little Wolf would defeat you._"

"He did not defeat me!"

"_Of course not… Nevertheless, you did just as I willed you to. The feeble pawns of the fool Card Captor know of your power now. And even Damien has struck his will against ours._"

"Grrrrrrr… I'll kill that turncoat!"

"_Ease, ease, Lycan. Damien always gave his lip service to our cause, and thus so did his Card Captor. But it was only a matter of time before he realized the truth. You did well, Lycan._"

"But what about the Life Card?"

"_Tomorrow… is another day._"

"I will not fail you again."

"_That is not your concern. There is no failure for you, but for me. Your concern should be your obedience. If you simply heed my words, then…_"

"_Zettai daijobu…_" Sakura's voice echoes out through the shadows in Lycan's mind, completing the thought of the former voice.

Lycan begins to cackle lowly. "Yes. Yes, Lord Kaos. Zettai daijobu, indeed. Mheheheheheheh. Rrrrraahahahahahahahahaha!"


	9. 7 The Stage is Set

Chapter 7: The Stage is Set…

(Sakura's room, shortly later)

The curtains are drawn, the door is shut, and the only light source in the entire room seems to come from an open book, sitting on the floor and glowing like a bright lamp.

A short girl with pale green hair and a white kimono sits on Sakura's bed. Her heart weighs heavy with anxiety and worry, as the distressed expression on her face clearly indicates, as if a kind of speech all its own. However, the girl doesn't even make as much as a peep of noise, remaining perfectly silent. She lifts her head, her eyes meeting with those of Kero who floats opposite her, and she makes a subtle frown.

Kero floats over to the girl and pats her on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mirror, but I can't say for sure. We'll just have to wait for her to get back," Kero explains somberly.

Mirror curls up into a ball and looks away from Kero, at the small crack of morning sunlight coming through the curtains, as she begins to sulk pessimistically.

"Hey, it's all we can do just to wait for her," Kero explains defensively.

Mirror shoots back a teary-eyed glare that communicates its message very strongly despite her deafening speechlessness.

"I _know_ that you care about her a lot," Kero responds.

Mirror responds by refocusing her stare straight forward, seeming to ignore Kero altogether.

Suddenly, the doorknob begins fidgeting and turning audibly right before Sakura bursts into the room and quickly shuts the door behind her, leaning back against the door in exhaustion before interrupting further with a loud sigh. She wears an oversized white T-shirt that appears to fit her like a tent, which stretches down to the knees of her muddy, soiled jeans. She holds up her wadded-up, soiled blue sweater before pitching it across the room, right into the midst of her assorted stuffed animal collection. Looking around the room, she sees Mirror sitting on the edge of the bed, with Kero hovering over her.

Kero notices Sakura's abrupt entry and then turns back towards Mirror. "See? Didn't I tell you she'd come back okay?"

Mirror slowly stands up and turns towards Sakura, and her eyes meet with her master's. Her body dematerializes into a green wind which reforms into a large circular mirror, with her true form on the other side of the reflection. As she walks through the mirror like a fluid portal, her body takes on Sakura's appearance, oversized T-shirt, soiled jeans and all, but her sad expression remains.

"Mirror-san? Are you okay?" Sakura asks uncertainly.

Mirror looks down, away from Sakura's gaze. "I… I heard," she says softly before lifting her head up and looking back at Sakura eye-to-eye. "I heard her cries. Please, Master. Tell me that she's still alright. Please, let me see her just this once," she begs, grabbing meekly yet desperately at her master's arm.

"Hoee? Who are you talking about?" Sakura peeps out, turning her head curiously.

Mirror looks down to Sakura's right hand, and Sakura's eyes soon follow, to where Sakura holds the Elixir of Fire's bottle and her latest Kaos Card in her hand.

"Is that her?" Mirror asks somberly.

Sakura holds up the Kaos Card, looking at its picture with its back facing towards Mirror. With its jagged, curved fangs and wings of fire, Sakura can hardly believe that some even remotely human personality remains in the card. "Mirage is a 'she'?" Sakura asks.

Mirror quickly backs away and clasps her hands over her mouth in horror, her eyes focusing on the dark, seven-pointed star in the center of the Kaos Card. She shakes her head back with a nerve-racked doubt. "No… that can't be her…"

Sakura curiously scrutinizes looks at the portrait on the Kaos Card that faces her and opposes Mirror. "Is something wrong with how Mirage looks?" she asks, turning the card over for Mirror to see.

Mirror's eyes land on the card for just an instant before she turns away sharply, hoping that she didn't really see what she thought she saw. "I changed my mind! I don't want to see her!" she insists, trembling. "Not like this. Set her down. I don't want to see her this way."

Sakura blinks, clearly not getting the point. Nonetheless, she goes over to her desk, past Mirror, and sets Mirage's card with the portrait side down. She also pulls out and sets down the Industry and Nightmare cards overlapping each other, their portrait sides facing down just like Mirage. "I'm sorry, Mirror-san. I really don't understand. Do you want to see Mirage or not?"

Mirror remains speechless and motionless, not even turning to face Sakura, but Kero zips over Sakura's shoulder. "The Kaos Cards are fallen," he explains. "For Mirror, looking at a Kaos Card that she's familiar with would be like a person looking at the dead body of someone they knew. You want to see them out of respect, but you're sad that you'll never really see them ever again."

"What?!" Sakura replies, realizing the reason behind Mirror's skittishness, and even understanding it in some personal way herself. She turns back, seeing Mirror still turned away from her. "Er… Mirror-san? I'm sorry that I didn't understand at first. Are you going to be okay?" Sakura asks with concern.

Mirror remains motionless. "We're coming with you," Mirror replies monotonously, finally looking back over her shoulder at Sakura. "If and until this dark time is ever passed, wherever you go, we will stay faithfully by your side, Sakura-sama. You can count on your Clow Cards to protect you!" she vows solemnly.

"Well, that is a noble sentiment and all, Mirror…" Kero interjects reluctantly. "…but only Kaos magic can stand up to Kaos Cards."

"I don't care!" Mirror insists. "_We_ don't care." she corrects herself. "Kero-sama, you felt it too. And Yue-sama felt it harder than any of us. Nothing in this world pains our kind more than the loss of a master. We'll find a way to fight Kaos with all that we have, even at the risk of our own lives."

"Mirror-san…" Sakura whispers back, having overheard Mirror's rant. She smiles brightly.

Mirror turns reluctantly to face her master. "Sakura-sama…" she begins. "If there's anything we can do for you to protect you, anything at all, just say the word and we'll be there. We know our place. You're our master, and we're just your tools."

"Nonsense!" Sakura intervenes, shaking her head. "I may be your master, but you and the other Clow Cards shouldn't think of yourselves as just _tools_. You're my friend, Mirror-san. All of the Clow Cards are my friends. And as your master _and _friend, it's my responsibility to protect you all, not yours to protect me." Sakura turns away and heads for her closet. "I'm going out today. You and the other Clow Cards should stay home. Stay hidden, so that Lycan won't find you." She shuffles through her hangers until she finds a strange outfit: a leather cow-skinned jacket with a golden star-like badge on a hanger, and also on the hanger, a pair of feminine blue jeans with a wide leather belt. The belt buckle itself is the same gold color as the badge, and on the oval-shaped buckle is an embossed image resembling the state of Texas. Sakura also kneels down to retrieve a pair of spurred leather cowboy boots and a light pink ten-gallon hat. Sakura takes all these items over to her bed and lays them out.

Mirror notices the odd assortment of clothes that Sakura had pulled from her closet. "Er, Sakura-sama, if I may ask, where are you going with those strange clothes?" she asks quizzically.

Sakura returns to her closet and goes hunting around some more. She emerges from the closet with a white duffel bag with a yellow wing-shaped emblem embroidered to the side. She opens the bag up and pulls out a bunch of papers stapled together. Flipping through the pages, she nods. "I'm going to help Naoko-chan with her summer project. She's doing a Wild West skit, and I'm playing the role of the Sherriff."

Unbeknownst to Sakura, or even Kero, Mirror holds up a pair of Clow Cards. With a determined stare from Mirror, one of the cards begins to glow, as a deafening silence invisibly envelops the entire room. Mirror clenches her eyes tightly shut as she sorrowfully motions the words 'I'm sorry' with her lips. The second card in her hands begins to glow.

'Mirror-san, I-' Sakura begins to speak, but she can't hear her own words. She holds her hand close to her mouth as she begins to speak again, feeling the movement of her lips, but not hearing as much as a peep. She tenses up as she feels a weak magical power flickering behind her. 'A Clow Card's presence!' she thinks to herself, her last thought before suddenly blacking out. She falls to her knees, and then off to the side, knocked out cold as Mirror stands right behind her, her right hand flat and tensed up. Mirror stares away shamefully as Kero zips right into her face.

Kero attempts to yell and shout, but his voice is completely overtaken by the quiet hum of magic in the air, which only Mirror can hear.

Mirror hangs her head somberly. She holds up her left hand as two Clow Cards materialize in her hand: Silent and Fight. Her hands quake and tremble nervously as she holds the two cards up and gives them both an otherwise stoic nod.

Kero huffs and puffs, short of breath after his supposed muted yelling. "Okay, so that explains Silent. But why did you use Fight?" Kero asks inquisitively.

Mirror turns her head away, instead looking out the window. "Because she's too powerful to use Sleep on."

"That's _not_ what I meant!" Kero insists, flying around and getting right in Mirror's face. "You just knocked your own master unconscious. Who's going to protect you and the other cards from the Kaos Cards? What were you thinking anyway?"

Mirror shakes her head and turns back in the opposite direction and paces away, continuing to dodge Kero's accusations and glare. "Sakura-sama was going to fight Lycan again. I know it's something she would've done, putting her own safety and well-being aside to help others." She stands over her master's fallen and unconscious body, lifting her up and laying her face up over her bed. "I couldn't let her though. I had to stop her. Even if it meant defying her."

"You idiot!" Kero retorts. "Lycan isn't the only one looking for Sakura. She has to be places today, and people will notice she's missing. And when she's not where she needs to be, people will be coming here, asking questions, and attracting unnecessary attention. Did you think about _that_?"

Mirror scrutinizes the outfit that Sakura laid out over her bed, remaining silent for a long moment. She cringes, gulps down deeply, and reaches for the garments.

--

(outside Sakura's room)

Sakura opens the door and walks out. Clad in her Tomoeda Elementary school uniform and carrying a pink ten-gallon hat and a duffel bag, she leaves her room and moves to shut the door behind her, trying not to make a loud sound. Creaking softly, the door closes. Tiptoeing quietly towards the stairs, she darts quick glances around. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she begins to head down the stairs.

"Sakura?" Touya's voice calls from behind, freezing her in place.

Touya pulls open the door to his room and glances out. Heavy bags hang under his eyes, and he wears the same T-shirt and jeans that he wore when he found Sakura in the forest, indicating that, if he had slept at all it was hardly sufficient. Seeing Sakura pace down the stairs, he closes his door again, but peeks back out. The girl he saw remained frozen, but there appeared to be something else wrong. He opens his door again and walks out of his room, following 'Sakura'.

Mirror freezes in place. "G-go-good morning," she stutters, keeping her back turned to Touya as she heads down the stairs.

Touya looks down at the girl and sighs. "What are _you_ doing out here?" he calls back calmly, freezing Mirror in place again.

Mirror turns back and smiles a corny smile up at Touya, though not a smile that seems to faze him. "I, uh, have to head out today to help, uh, a classmate out with-"

"You're _not_ Sakura," Touya cuts her off. "You only seem to appear when she's in real trouble. So that nobody gets worried about her when she's not where she's supposed to be. That's why you always look like her. Isn't it?" he asks inquisitively.

Mirror shrugs, her disguise having failed her against Touya for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "Well, that's part of it…" she trails off, heading down the stairs.

Touya follows Mirror down the stairs, acting as if nothing was wrong otherwise. "You can't tell me what's wrong, can you?" he asks.

Mirror comes to the bottom of the stairs and stops. "Well… it's complicated. I'm sorry that I can't tell you these things. I really am."

Touya only shakes his head and smiles. "No, don't worry. I've got a pretty good idea of-"

Mirror glares back sharply at Touya. "No, you _don't_! You have _no idea_ of what could happen to her!"

Touya's gentle expression goes sour. He comes to the base of the stairs and crouches down. Grabbing Mirror by the collar, he pulls her close with a stern coldness. "What's that supposed to mean? Is my sister in trouble? Are _you _behind any of this? If she's in peril and you're not telling me, I'll-"

"You'll _what_?" Mirror shouts back, with tears congregating in her eyes. Touya lightens his grip on her shirt, catching himself before he does something he'd regret later, as she trembles at the lips and shakes her head. "I'm doing my best to protect her. I don't want to see her get hurt any more than you do. And yet, even if I told you, you couldn't imagine the risk I'm going through by even being here."

"Why's that?" Touya asks bluntly. "Because I'm just some 'mere mortal' who can't understand anything?" he adds sarcastically.

Mirror shakes her head. "Hey, it's not like _that_! I told you, it's complicated… And besides, just because we're not human doesn't make us immortal."

"Us?" Touya repeats, causing Mirror to stiffen up after having dropped at least some of the beans. "…So there really are more of you," Touya observes aloud, getting a quiet, somber nod back from Mirror before she pulls away.

"So you really did know it all along…" Mirror responds solemnly. With her back turned to Touya, she frowns sadly. "Y'know, I wish we were immortal though… I wish that death didn't matter to us…" she mutters in aloof contemplation as she heads for the door, to clear her mind of the thought.

Stopping at the door, Mirror sees a few sets of shoes lined up near the door. One of these sets of shoes is a set of tan loafers, very formal-like, though clearly not for wearing outdoors, more like slippers. The other set is a pair of worn tennis shoes, clearly broken in, with mud and dirt crusted to the soles. These seemed to be Touya's, Mirror surmises. The third and final pair of footwear, the one that Mirror focuses on, is a pair of white rollerblades with bright pink and golden yellow braces. Near the rollerblades are a set of similarly color-coordinated kneepads, shoulder pads, and wrist guards, all of which are engraved with Sakura's name in large capital Romanji, right on the plastic itself.

Mirror raises an uncertain eyebrow before reaching for the rollerblades. Slipping out of her shoes, she takes a seat on the stoop and grabs the rollerblades. At first, she fiddles around with the clamps, trying to figure out how to open them. After getting the first lock open, she toggles it back and forth between locked and unlocked before nodding in a modicum of comprehension. Slipping her feet into the rigid devices, she finds that her feet fit with a surprising Cinderella-esque comfort in spite of their lack of fabric-like give, as she locks them on.

"Okay, okay, relax. How hard could this be, anyway?" Mirror thinks aloud. Pushing herself off the ground and to a standing position, she wobbles around unsteadily at first. As she begins to roll slowly forward, in panic she begins to move her feet to walk, but this only worsens her unsteady wobbling as she slips backwards and lands squarely on her posterior.

Touya watches all this with a stoic amusement at first, but his lighter side prevails when he sees Mirror grimace in discomfort. He kneels down next to Mirror and looks down at her with condescending concern. "You… don't know how to skate, do you?"

Mirror looks back up with a cheery innocent grin, but even this fails to conceal the pain of involuntarily planting her derriere on the firm stoop. "Ehehehe… Somehow, I thought this would be less painful than it looked…"

Touya droops his hand over his face as he sighs audibly. "I'll get my bike," he responds, quickly changing out of his slippers and into his tennis shoes before proceeding out the door. "Something tells me that if you don't know how to rollerblade, you probably don't even know where Sakura's school is," he calls back.

"Hey, wait up! I'll come, too!" Mirror calls back. She loses sight of Touya as he turns the corner outside the door, possibly not hearing her, and she also takes pause to consider that she is still wearing rollerblades that she doesn't know how to use. She frantically unclips the restraints and slips her feet out of them, swapping them back out for the shoes corresponding to the school uniform she wears. She then quickly follows after Touya, turning the corner, but she stops abruptly and suddenly. She stares straight ahead, her eyes wide open to observe the sight before her.

A heavily tanned, bare-chested adult male lifts himself off of the ground, grumbling to himself as his red-scaled tail begins to stir. After seeing the creature's tail, Mirror also notices how the figure's forearms and every part below the waist are covered in red reptilian scales, like a hybrid of man and dragon.

The figure slams his forearm against the concrete sidewalk in frustration, sending minute cracks through the very rock with his immensely muscular arm. "That's all the magic this human can offer? Pathetic… but I'll take it anyway. It'll have to do," the man-creature vents amidst muttered, unrepeatable grumbling. He reaches for his crimson red hair with his three-fingered reptilian hand, running the digits of his hand-like appendage through his hair. Looking back at his hand, he finds clumps of his hair having fallen out, as his pattern baldness becomes more and more prominent. He snarls angrily as the wind blows the ripped-out red hair from his palm, causing the hair clumps to disintegrate into rust-colored ash and dust. "This is all that Reed-lover's fault!" he shouts, punching more cracks in the sidewalk with a slam of his mighty mutant fist.

Mirror hops back with a frightened squeak as the sidewalk takes the brunt of Damien's potent jab. She tries to run away, but her feet don't cooperate with her head as she stands right in front of Damien who, to her relief, didn't seem to have noticed her yet. Hoping to keep it that way, Mirror begins to step back quietly, but Damien freezes her with the gaze of his bestial, utterly inhuman eyes.

Damien's fang-toothed snarl fades away as he notices Mirror's attempted escape from his presence. He struggles to lift himself to his feet, managing amidst a mysterious soreness to take a knee. He then focuses his attention onto Mirror. "Typical…" he spits out spitefully. "Everybody runs from the big, scary old Guardian Beast of Destruction. It's like I'm some sort of demon. Of course though,considering that I'm reduced to sapping life from other human beings… draining their magic for my own momentary sustenance… Well maybe everybody might just be onto something."

Mirror ceases her attempted getaway. She focuses in on the individual's face, scrutinizing his features, but all of a sudden an attack of déjà vu nearly knocks her off her feet. "Touya-nii-sama!" she exclaims, comparing the shockingly-similar facial features of the creature with Touya. She rushes to the being's side and attempts to place her hands on his muscular shoulders, but she immediately pulls her hands back as the touch of Damien's burning skin is like a hot plate against the tender flesh of the hands that she imitates. "…What… what happened to you? Who turned you into this… this _hideous _monster?" she asks horrifically, recognizing Touya from Damien's facial features, but horrified at the being's reptilian stature.

"That 'hideous monster', as you so _nicely_ call it," Damien replies, clearly irked at Mirror's choice of tone. "…that thing is… no… _I _am someone that you used to know. You were probably too young to remember me. But I know all about you. _Mirror Card_," Damien replies, glancing up at Mirror.

Mirror recoils away in shock. She feels for the length of her now short hair, for fear that her disguise had dissipated, but is briefly relieved that she still maintains her master's form. "You… you can see me, too?" she asks uncertainly. However, at hearing this from Damien, she begins to feel a safer comfort around him than at first. She pauses for a long moment, excavating her memory for a clue as to the demon's identity. "…Wait a second, you're… you're …are you Mirage-chan's Guardian?"

"Hmm…" Damien responds deeply. "Well, Mirror Card, you're sharper than I thought you'd be. Maybe the rest of your fellow Clow Cards aren't the complete dunces that I take them for either." He sighs heavily as he climbs to his feet. "Then again, it would be wrong of me to put the blame for my condition on you. Reed made you the way you were, just like he made Yue, and_ Reed _is the one who's really at fault here, not his creations."

Damien stares off to the side, where Touya's bike rests against the house. "But enough about Reed. You've got places to be, no? And with your Master away and Lycan about, face it, I'm your best shot at staying hidden from him." Damien walks over to the bike and takes hold of it, finding the aluminum device to be quite light to his superhuman strength. Trying to lift it up, he notices a chain wrapped around the bike that fastens it to a pole that in turn comes in and out of a slab of concrete imbedded in the ground. With a quick reach and pluck, he crushes the padlock between his fingers like a tin grape, allowing the chain wrapped securely around the bike to suddenly fall slack and release the bike from its bindings.

Mirror stands back as Damien goes about basically absconding with Touya's bike. She also takes note of Damien's peculiarly-shaped feet, with three digits pointing forward and two pointing backwards, like the talons of a bird of prey. "Uh… um, Mister, uh, Guardian-of-Destruction-san? Do you plan to ride the bike there? Wouldn't you be seen by a lot of people if you did?"

Damien effortlessly takes the bike under his left arm as he turns to face Mirror. A pair of crimson dragon wings sprout magically from his back, which catches Mirror off-guard at first. "No, even as old and burnt out as I am, flight is still much faster. The problem is that I only have the magic left to fly one way, and the human I possess would be basically stuck walking back. Or worse, he might figure out that I'm using his body and his magic for my own, and possessing him later would be much harder. I can't risk that, especially now with Lycan being so close to his goal. So I'm taking this human's bike so he can return on it. Or at least so he'll be less suspicious."

Mirror nods in acknowledgment. "You sure take a lot of precautions," she notes.

Damien turns his head away. "…I was taught well," he explains grimly, getting a confused hoee from Mirror in reply. Damien scoops up Mirror's small form with his right arm alone, and Mirror clings to him tightly, throwing her arms around his neck. Mirror then takes special notice of the radiation pouring from Damien's body. The heat that once burnt her at the touch had not disappeared, but merely changed. Now, instead of a searing heat, Damien exudes a warm, comforting heat.

Mirror takes one last good look at the ground before gulping down. "So… about how high and fast do you normally fly?" she inquires.

Damien crouches low. "Just hang on. You'll be down before you know it," he responds, though to little comfort of his passenger. And with that, Damien bounds up high and fast, exploding into the sky like a bullet. Mirror screams loudly in terror as she clutches even tighter hold of Damien, but either through steely resolve, sound-barrier-breaking speeds, or a combination of the two, Damien doesn't notice.

--

(outside Tomoeda Elementary)

A black limousine pulls up to the iron gates of the school and stops. Exiting the front passenger door, a long-haired woman with black sunglasses and a business suit heads for the back door of the limousine and opens it up, letting Tomoyo out the door. With a brief and mutual bow to her young boss, Tomoyo's bodyguard shuts the back door and returns to the front passenger seat, as the limousine drives off.

Tomoyo heads for the iron gates, cracked slightly opened up to allow students into the school in order to use its facilities for their project. Provided they proved their attendance by wearing a Tomoeda Elementary uniform, a qualification which Tomoyo met. With a beige duffel bag in her hand and her backpack over her shoulder, she slips through the opening and enters the schoolyard. Looking around, other students were around the outdoor premises of the schoolyard, some running about, others reading under the shade, and others performing skits of their own. Tomoyo heads past them all, heading for the auditorium. Her friend and classmate Naoko wasn't the only one to do a skit for her summer project, but she was exuberantly the first to place dibs on use of the school's actual stage.

As Tomoyo passes by her fellow classmates, she can't help but sigh at the mundane simplicity. After the horrors which she had witnessed as of late, she finds herself relieved that there are indeed places which seemed to be free of Kaos. Of course, according to the bestial Lycan, no soul and no place was truly free of Kaos, though Tomoyo would look around the peaceful school yard and beg to differ. 'Everybody has their sob story,' or so the saying goes. Though the Kaos of her classmates, Tomoyo reasoned, was none of her business. She passes by the race track, heading for the auditorium's outdoor entrance, but a familiar voice off to her side stops her in her tracks.

"Look at them…" Syaoran comments, staring at his classmates who use the track and field area to train up for the pending fall trimester. Syaoran shakes his head at their ignorance of the true threat to them all. "They're all so blissfully ignorant of the fact that, among their number, there are the agents of one of the most ancient of evils to plague man and nature alike." Syaoran stands in place, with his left arm hanging to his side, but with his right forearm wrapped in white bandages and hung in a sling, though with Syaoran on Tomoyo's left, she doesn't immediately notice the sling.

Tomoyo sighs. "Li-kun, let it go. You and Sakura-chan are on your way to beating this thing, I'm sure of it. Don't let it ruin your life in the meantime," she encourages Syaoran.

Syaoran stares onward in esoteric contemplation. "How can you say that? How can you just so casually tell me that I should let it go? Haven't you been paying attention?"

Tomoyo nods. "I have. And that's why I say you should let it go. The more you hold things in… the more Kaos has to use against you," she replies with uncharacterful morbidity. She hangs her head somberly.

Syaoran glances at Tomoyo out the corner of his eye. "Your father," he begins sympathetically. "In the forest, Lycan said something about your father having left you. Is that what Kaos holds against you?"

Tomoyo turns away. "I was… I was too young to remember a lot of the details. My parents were the joint owners of the family company, before my father disappeared. The last time I saw my parents together… they didn't see me, but I saw them. They were fighting and arguing. My mom told me later on that it was just grown-up business stuff, but I couldn't shake the fact that she was just humoring me. But the worst part of all…" Tomoyo pauses to subtly wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. "The worst part is that the last words that my parents spoke to each other were arguments. I wished that my father's last words to my mother were that he loved her. Not petty fighting over balancing the budget of a multi-billion yen company." She shakes her head at the pettiness of the argument playing back in her memory. "To this day, I hate seeing people who love each other get into fights. They might not get the chance to take _their_ words back, either."

Syaoran's jaw hangs open. Looking back on all Tomoyo's bantering and pestering about him and Sakura, an answer that eluded Syaoran to this point finally hits him. "So that's why. That's why you're always intervening between us." He then turns a perplexed expression towards her. "I still don't get it. What do you have to gain from helping me? From helping us? It doesn't make any sense." Syaoran shakes his head, now becoming more confused than before.

Tomoyo silently turns to face Syaoran, now taking notice of Syaoran's bandaged right arm. She notices how Syaoran's bandages wrap all the way up his wrist, around his thumb and covering his palm. "So it's your arm now, is it?" she asks drearily.

Syaoran takes Tomoyo's change of topic and refusal to answer his question with frustration. "Hey, don't change the subject!" he insists.

Tomoyo shakes her head. Her worry-heavy voice answers Syaoran back. "Did you harm yourself over Sakura-chan again? I'm not dumb. You didn't get beaten up in the forest _that _badly. You didn't break your arm there. So let's see it… What did you do to yourself this time?" she asks.

Syaoran looks forward again, seeing the futility in grilling the real answer he was looking for out of Tomoyo. "It's not your problem. You've got no reason to be worried about me, other than for Sakura's sake."

"Of course I do…" Tomoyo answers back nervously. "…Riteru Wurufu," she tags on at the end, eliciting Syaoran's attention once again. Tomoyo looks Syaoran straight in the eye with an unnerving seriousness. "I love you," she answers.

Instead of responding back with compassion and flattery, Syaoran puts on a vicious snarl. "That's not funny, Daidouji-san. Don't even kid about it. You said it yourself. You love Sakura." Syaoran shakes his head indignantly. "Not me."

Tomoyo sighs as she turns her back to Syaoran, so as not to look him in the eye. "I wasn't trying to be funny. Or mean. Or sarcastic. I really _do _love you. The person I love most is someone that I know will never reciprocate feelings for me. It would be nice, but the person I love also loves someone else. The most important thing to me is that my 'Number One' would be happy. So, I'll never want my true love to love me back. I know that my true love would be much happier with _their own_ true love than with me." She motions to wipe the corner of her eye with the back of her hand before looking over her shoulder at Syaoran. "You're half-right. I love Sakura-chan too, but she isn't the only one that description fits. I've been watching the both of you for a long time now. You're both perfect for each other, even if you don't realize it all the time. I just… I just didn't want to trouble you two. So I decided not to say anything to either of you about it. Because you'd just look at me like, well… like _that_."

Syaoran's mouth hangs slightly open, but he remains speechless nonetheless, his furious expression nowhere on his features, replaced with utter shock and confusion. "Daidouji-san… I don't know what to say…" he blurts out, if just to acknowledge.

Tomoyo turns away and shamefully puts her hands over her mouth, momentarily muffling a sob. She lifts her hand away from her mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should've kept that to myself. I don't know why I said it. I can't really help you. I'm not magical. I don't know any martial arts. I don't know that much about Kaos. I'm just a big bother to you, aren't I?" she asks hopelessly.

Syaoran takes a moment to reassert his composure. Something around had caused him to sharpen his resolve, like a pungent smell, or some other hidden presence. He places his left hand on Tomoyo's shoulder. "Follow me," Syaoran mutters in a low tone.

Tomoyo turns around slowly to face Syaoran again. This time, she shakes her head. "I can't. I'm through with magic. I'm through with hiding and lying. I'm through with all this doubt and helplessness. I'm just through."

Syaoran tempers his frustration. He grabs Tomoyo's hand with his own and starts leading her away. As he quickly paces, Tomoyo struggles to keep up with him. Syaoran meanwhile looks all around the schoolyard, seeing his fellow classmates in every nook and cranny, such that no place on the entire premise seems hidden. He paces about with frustration, looking and listening with razor-sharp focus until suddenly his sixth sense is jarred by an overwhelming increase in magical presence. Syaoran stops running, as does Tomoyo beside him. The two find themselves standing near one of the tall, imposing perimeter walls around Tomoeda Elementary, with only sparing others around, while those few who are around seem more focused on something else.

Syaoran scans the walls with a focused glare, as if trying to see the invisible. His eyes narrow in on a patch of the wall that would seem otherwise mundane to anyone else, but Syaoran hones in on it nonetheless. Syaoran takes off into a run, still hanging onto and practically dragging Tomoyo behind him, as he runs headlong for the spot in the wall that he focused on.

Tomoyo notices Syaoran speeding straight towards the wall with no signs of slowing. "Li-kun, look out! You're about to run right into the wall!" Tomoyo warns. She tries to weasel out of Syaoran's grip, but she can't both run along with Syaoran and free her wrist at the same time. When it seemed to her like collision was imminent, she closes her eyes tightly, but she and Syaoran run straight on through, passing completely through the wall.

Syaoran is the first to come to a stop, and Tomoyo also opens her eyes and stops as well, finding herself on the other side of the thick stone barrier. However, this isn't all that Tomoyo notices.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo calls out gleefully.

--

(Sakura's room)

Kero sits on Sakura's windowsill, standing a vigilant watch as Sakura lays unconscious on the floor behind him, right where Mirror had left her, though it seemed that Kero had been making progressive effort to drag Sakura over to her bed. However, amidst staring earnestly out the window for some sign of danger from outside, his eyebrow twitches as he feels a magical fluxuation behind him.

Sakura's hand begins to twitch slightly, regaining strength at an increasing rate. Amidst long groans, Sakura balls up her hands into tight fists before moving any other muscles. Then, all of a sudden, Sakura shoots her right hand straight up, opening her palm as the Elixir of Fire flies out from the tangled, stained mess that was once Sakura's blue sweater. Sakura catches the Elixir of Fire right out of the air with a cold smack. Her hand quickly wraps tightly around the bottle, showing no deterrence by the searing heat of the infernal energy within. Sakura then peels herself off the floor of her room, having received a mysterious new strength.

"That runty little wimp blind sighted me…" Sakura grumbles lowly. She stands to her feet as she places the lanyard around her neck. "It won't happen again. _Never_ again…" she vows vindictively. She heads for the closet, fishing through her outfits until she finds her Tomoeda Elementary uniform for the spring and summer trimesters.

Kero notices as the remnants of his master stands to her feet. He doesn't even need to turn his eyes directly towards her to notice a burning aura all about her, though this aura is surprisingly-distinct from the Elixir of Fire in its undertones. A lesser Guardian Beast may not have noticed the difference at all, but the legendary Kerberus could. Kero looks back out the window, noticing a dark and ominous storm congregating and coming over the horizon.

As Kero stares out the window, Sakura quickly changes out of her jeans and oversized t-shirt and into her uniform. Without as much as a word, Sakura leaves her room and slams the door shut behind her.

Kero ignores Sakura entirely, keeping his eyes fixed on the coming storm cloud, and he gets the strange feeling that the cloud was doing the same.

"So, you sure came back quick…" Kero thinks aloud.

"_Meheheheheh… Of course. Would you expect any less from me?_"

"Sounds like you're already bored. Don't you have better things to be doing? Like preparing yourself for the crushing defeat of a lifetime?"

"_Says the survivor, Keroberos. The one helplessly forced to lay the legacy of his former master in the hands of a child._"

"Correction: a child who already beat you once."

"_A child is a child. Ultimately, you are powerless to save Kinomoto Sakura. Or even Yue, for that matter._"

"Just what do you mean by that?"

"_Come now, you forget so quickly? You're the 'new breed' of Guardian Beast. The Guardian Beast who is capable of generating his own magic, should he require it. Unfortunately though, Yue is still… shall we say, a traditional model. It makes you wonder: what would happen to Yue if his magic suddenly gave out?_"

"Is that a threat?"

"_Consider it a warning . Or a premonition, even. Heheheheheheh…"_

Kero smirks. "Run your mouth while you can, Lycan. Sakura is already on her way. She'll shut you up once and for all."

"_Oh, I know. In fact… I'm counting on it!_"

--

(just outside Tomoeda Elementary)

Tomoyo throws her arms around the auburn-haired girl, who responds back with a completely blank and dumbfounded stare. However, Syaoran exchanges glances with 'Sakura', scowling at her as he feels something direly amiss.

"What are _you_ doing out here?" Syaoran asks coldly.

Tomoyo releases her friend from her crushing hug, but only to look peculiarly back at Syaoran. "Li-kun, what're you talking about? Aren't you happy to see Sakura-chan?"

Syaoran maintains his stare's direction and intensity. "I do. There's just one problem with that… This girl isn't Sakura."

Mirror retains her steady composure before Syaoran's straightforward glare bores through her façade. She looks away and falls to her knees. Covering her face with her hands, she begins to sob loudly. "Oh, why do I even bother? How come I try so hard just to fail anyway? What's the point when my powers are always useless when it really matters?" she cries.

"Your powers?" Tomoyo asks, finally catching on.

Mirror raises her head up out of her hands, looking up to Tomoyo, though she weakens her disguise minimally to allow Tomoyo to see past Sakura's reflection. Mirror looks up into Tomoyo's eyes, and as Mirror lets a minute level of her disguise fall away, Tomoyo can see a strange blue tattoo on Mirror's forehead, like a diamond interposed over a triangle.

Mirror stands to her feet and heads for the invisible opening in the wall. She places her hand just barely off the surface of the barricade and she smiles. "Thank you for your help, Through. You can rest again now." Mirror speaks as a glowing orb leaves the wall. The wall's passageway disappears and Mirror places her hand on the now solid wall. The orb of light reforms into a Clow Card that floats majestically through the air before slipping back into the duffel bag which Mirror carries over her shoulder.

"Daidouji-san, this is one of Sakura's Clow Cards. The Mirror Card," Syaoran introduces. "Its power lets it take on the form of anyone it sees. Sakura must've called on the Mirror Card because she doesn't want anyone to worry about her or to get suspicious while, for whatever reason, she can't come out. If she's smart, it's because she's hiding from Lycan."

Mirror turns back towards Syaoran and Tomoyo and shakes her head. "No, that's not it. Sakura-sama didn't call on us. We came out on our own. We want to protect Sakura-sama at any cost." She glances down subtly. "Even if it means ending up like Mirage-chan," she mutters softly.

Syaoran shakes his head in disapproval. "That was a poor judgment call. You and the other Clow Cards are all powerless against Kaos Cards. If Lycan gets his claws on you all, Sakura will be just as powerless as you feel now if Kaos comes after her."

Mirror nods her head sorrowfully. "I know. I know. It was stupid of us to think we could do anything. We're out of our league." She bows towards Syaoran. "But please, we really want to help. We're begging you. Isn't there anything we can do? Anything at all?"

Syaoran takes Mirror's offer skeptically at first, but he lowers his aggression towards the timid doppelganger. "Where is Sakura? The real Sakura? Have you seen her?"

Mirror glances up at Syaoran out the top corners of her eyes. She leans upright and begins nervously tapping her pointer fingers against each other. "Well, y'know, uh… about that…" she begins nervously, becoming only more nervous at seeing a growing sour look on Syaoran's face. "Don't worry though. She's fine and all. No need to worry. She's just, er, resting. Kinda'."

"Kinda'?" Syaoran responds suspiciously.

Mirror returns to nervously pressing her pointer fingers together. "Erm… she was so determined to come out today, but we decided that it would be better for her to stay home. We wanted her to rest, so we… So we…"

Syaoran sighs nervously, though can't help feeling a little relieved. "What card did you use? Sleep?"

Mirror mumbles nervously, but Syaoran can't decipher what she said at first. "Well… eh…" She closes her eyes tightly. "Fight."

"You used WHAT CARD?!" Syaoran flips out, restrained only by Tomoyo holding him off with a haphazard full nelson to keep him from giving Mirror the decking of a lifetime.

Mirror backs out of range of Syaoran's wild swings as she defensively puts her hands up. "Wait! Wait! I-I-I can explain! I used Fight on her kinda' like why you hit her that one time," she pleads her case desperately.

Syaoran's furious swings die down as he shoots a raging stare at Mirror, but his rage subsides as he comes to the realization that Mirror had made a very good point. Tomoyo reluctantly releases Syaoran, only to back away quickly, expecting Syaoran to return the favor to Mirror on Sakura's behalf. However, Syaoran calms his breathing and relaxes his muscles, as he lets his arms hang to his side. Tomoyo pays particular attention to the fact that Syaoran's bandaged arm now hangs down normally, no longer supported by the sling.

Syaoran gulps down, swallowing his pride and a mouthful of oxygen. "I wish I never raised a hand to her." He unflinchingly grips his right fist tightly.

Mirror tilts her head quizzically. "Li-san? Are you alright?"

"Li-kun, your arm!" Tomoyo observes, as Syaoran's right arm shows no signs of pain or discomfort to him as he makes seemingly normal use of it, clearly atypical of someone with a broken arm.

Syaoran notices that he had his right arm at his side, out of the sling he wore over his shoulder. He blushes as he quickly slips his right arm back into the sling, trying to maintain his own façade.

Tomoyo sighs with relief. "I'm glad your arm isn't actually hurt, Li-kun. I was worried about you when I saw your arm like that. But why are you wearing a sling and bandages if your arm isn't hurt?"

Syaoran remains silent to Tomoyo's question.

"Do you have something to hide?" Mirror asks all of a sudden. She innocently folds her arms behind her back. "Nobody without magical powers ever sees me for who I really am: one of Clow Reed's magical creations. And even then, few people with magic can tell what I actually look like unless I let them. But as much as it feels like a curse sometimes, it's also comforting, knowing that no one is troubled when they see me. Li-san, I know what you're feeling. You want to hide something because you don't want anyone else to worry about someone that you love very much. Is that it?"

Syaoran nods. "Yeah, sort of. It's the Inferno Crossbow. I can't just walk around with that thing strapped to my arm all the time. But I can't just stay at home forever. Not when Sakura needs my help most of all. Wei suggested I wrap it up and make it look like an injury. Which is convenient because it works for my own personal purposes, too."

"Personal purposes?" Mirror and Tomoyo ask in unison.

Syaoran turns his head, looking up at the high buildings sticking up, visible over the high walls around Tomoeda Elementary. "Yanagizawa-san. She wanted me to be in a play that she was making. Said something about wanting me to be the bad guy in a Wild-West-like skit. At the time, when Yamazaki-kun brought it up to me… I was feeling a little bitter about the Final Judgment going sour, especially when he mentioned that Sakura was also going to be in the play. And as the sheriff, no less. So I bluffed it and told him that I couldn't do it because I had an injury."

Mirror nods. "I see, Li-san. You lie to your friends to protect them from being troubled. It seems that you and I aren't too different. I guess that's why Sakura-sama loves you so."

Syaoran freezes in place. Despite having not blushed before at Sakura's likeness, his cheeks reveal a deep red tint, despite desperately attempting to conceal his tinted cheeks, which in turn causes Tomoyo to giggle softly under her breath.

Syaoran sighs. "Let's just go, already. Yanagizawa-san and the others must've started practice half an hour ago." He walks off, only for Tomoyo and Mirror to follow him.

They pass by a patch of thick trees and a concrete wall as they head for the front gate to the school, all the while not noticing that another had been eavesdropping on them. On the other side of a large stone wall, Damien stands with his arms folded, with Touya's bike at his side. Damien leans off the wall as his wings swell out a great length before they wrap around his entire body like a bat trying to hide from the sun. The Circle of Kaos appears below him as he levitates briefly in the air, but after peeling his wings away, a stunned Touya remains, levitating gently towards the ground.

Touya opens his eyes wearily to look around. Noticing his bike to his side and Tomoeda Elementary to his back, he reorients himself with his location, though confused as to how he got there. He reaches for the handles of his bike as he gets on.

"I know you're there, whoever, or whatever you are," Touya whispers, confident of his invisible listener's attention. "If you need something, anything… just ask. But leave my sister out of it."

"_I would if I could,_" the voice replies, though it sounds to Touya like a mere breeze of wind.

--

Only a few minutes later, Touya finds himself drearily peddling away from Tomoeda Elementary on his bike. While clearly incredibly tired, the chilly, humid air against his sleeveless arms keeps him somewhat alert, or at least keeping him from falling asleep. He can barely keep his eyes open, but he sends a brief glance to the sky. While it was once clear, a dark and muggy cloud covering had overtaken the once placid, blue sky. Hearing a faint, rumbling thunder, he increases his peddling speed to get home before the rain started. However, he begins to feel slight touches of rain falling from the sky against his arms and hair. He grumbles at the dampening, chilly weather, but suddenly he remembers why he came out, so he surpress his muttering to think to himself.

"_I wonder if that girl is okay now..._" he ponders.

He raises his eyes to the rainy, cloudy sky again, but something smashes into the back wheel of his bike, sending him for a vicious tumble. Recovering from his split second out-of-mindedness, he finds himself thrown shoulder-first into the cherry blossom trees on the right side of the road. He looks back, to see what he had hit, only to see a familiar-looking figure on roller skates speeding off in the opposite direction. He squints hard to try to focus, but the figure evades his sight range before he can focus on her. Suffering from exhaustion and quite likely a vicious concussion, Touya blacks out as the speed of the rain begins to pick up from scattered, humid dripping to the beginnings of a heavy downpour.

Meanwhile, Sakura speeds along on her rollerblades and in her summer Tomoeda Elementary uniform, undeterred by the slowly-pouring rain and the frigid air, but solidly determined to getting somewhere very quickly. Sakura turns a malicious gaze to the darkened sky above her.

"What? He had it coming to him for a long time. He's the _real_ kaiju here, not me."

--

(inside the auditorium)

The rain had poured mightily on Syaoran, Tomoyo, and the Sakura-disguised Mirror, so when the three fly through the door, they bask in the climate-controlled warmth of the auditorium. Syaoran shakes his head like a dog, trying to dry his damp chocolate hair, but only succeeds in getting his hair stuck out in all directions. Tomoyo wrings out the white cap on her head, as the water drips off it like a rag.

Mirror is particularly bothered by the cold weather outside as she shivers from head to toe and tiptoes rapidly in place to keep moving. "Brrrrrrr! Honestly, how is anyone supposed to keep warm wearing one of these ridiculously short skirts?!" she blurts out. But as soon as she had made her scene-

CRACK! CRACK!

Loud thunder claps ferociously outside as the entire lighting apparatus for the gymnasium / auditorium goes completely black. When the lights come back on, Syaoran finds Mirror with her arms thrown over his shoulders, hugging him for dear life as she rapidly pleads "Lightcard, Lightcard, Lightcard, Lightcard, Lightcard…" to herself over and over. With the lights back on, Syaoran leers down at the sad excuse for a Card Captor replica clinging to him. Feeling his eyes on the back of her head, Mirror looks up at Syaoran and giggles innocently. Syaoran sighs in response, fortunate that Mirror's little freak-out wasn't the main attention grab of his classmates up on the stage.

The group of students atop the stage all sigh in loud unison as the lights come back on.

A boy with perpetually-closed eyes, and in fact the only boy on the stage, wears a long black cape, a tall top hat, and a faux mustache. Two of the girls, one with light brown and curled hair, and another with dark brown and elegantly-combed hair, and both dressed exquisitely in the detailed attire of western saloon showgirls, lean up from their sitting position over some 'railroad tracks' made of construction paper. The two girls appear tied up in several thick ropes, but under closer inspection the ropes are actually quite loose, yet enough to give off a convincing appearance of binding them. The last one of the girls with short brown hair and large round glasses, most likely the director of the whole skit, carries a rolled-up notebook in her hand, and unlike her classmates, she isn't in any sort of costume.

"That's the second time the power cut in the last few minutes," Rika, one of the 'tied up' girls observes. "If the lights go again, I think we should meet some other time, because this storm might get too bad for us to walk back home safely."

Naoko, the director, hunches over in disappointment. "And I really wanted to get some practice in, too… But, I guess you're right."

"Hey!" Syaoran calls out, waving his 'good' hand. "Hey, we just got in!" he calls, drawing the attention of his four classmates.

Naoko turns towards the outside exit near the stage, seeing Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Mirror, believing her to be Sakura, just inside the door. "This is great! The star has finally arrived!" Naoko announces joyfully with energy practically beaming out her eyes. "Or, should I say, the _Lone _Star has arrived. The Lone Star Sherriff Sakura-chan!" she annunciates, pointing straight at a perplexed Mirror.

Mirror begins to perspire heavily, completely dumbfounded for being put on the spot, but having no idea what was going on, much less who was picking her out.

"Psst…" Syaoran whispers subtly to Mirror. "That's Yanagizawa Naoko-san. Sakura calls her 'Naoko-chan'."

Mirror's nervousness subsides at Syaoran's hint. She looks out the corner of her eye at Syaoran. "Thanks, Li-san," she whispers softly.

"Just don't blow it," Syaoran threatens, sending Mirror into another spiral of nervous perspiration.

"Uh…" she waves back at Naoko nervously while putting on the cheesiest smile she can possibly muster. "Good morning, Naoko-chan. Sorry I'm late."

Naoko waves back nervously. "_Something's not quite right here… I hope it's just me,_" Naoko imagines skeptically.

--

(a short while later)

Naoko, Chiharu, Rika, and Yamazaki are over on one end of the stage. Naoko flips through the notebook in her hands and rolls it up tightly to use it like a pointer, indicating her stage directions. Meanwhile, on the other side of the stage, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Mirror have some other things to discuss.

Mirror puts on the cowboy hat, completing her change of outfit into her skit persona of the 'Lone Star Sherriff', with added details of color-coordinated pink cowboy boots and a flashier badge to swap for the one already on her jacket.

Mirror stretches out, getting a feel for her costume, as she smiles widely at the costume's immaculate fit. "Wow, these fit incredibly! Daidouji-san, you're really good at making all of Sakura-sama's costumes!" she compliments.

"What can I say? It's a labor of love," Tomoyo replies modestly. She reaches into her duffel bag for one last prop, one that gets a peculiar, confused, and frightened look from Mirror. Tomoyo pulls out a belt with a pair of holsters on each side. In the holsters are two likenesses of a western-style revolver pistols.

Mirror's wide eyes lock onto the gun props. "Uh… those, those guns aren't… they're not real, are they?" she asks with cautious fear.

Tomoyo smiles at Mirror as she pulls one of the guns out of the holsters to reveal that not only were the bullet chambers not filled, but they were completely locked into place, unable to move, so the gun clearly couldn't function and was most likely a toy. "Don't worry; they're just scale resin models. I bought them in kits off eBay and I assembled them just last week because Naoko-chan said she wanted some decent-looking props." Tomoyo grabs the gun by the barrel, offering the handle to Mirror to let her hold.

Mirror grabs hold of the model. Feeling the plastic texture of the prop, she knew that Tomoyo was telling the truth. She shakes it in her hand to find that it doesn't even make any noises. Nodding, she takes the holster belt from Tomoyo and puts it on over her other belt.

Syaoran meanwhile meets with Yamazaki in the center of the stage.

"Thanks for covering for my part, Yamazaki-kun," Syaoran says to his classmate.

"Don't mention it, Li-kun," Yamazaki replies. "Who knows? Maybe one day I'll be in a play, break _my _arm, and then you can take _my _place."

Syaoran rolls his eyes inwardly. "_Oh, come on, what are the odds of…_" he thinks to himself. "Sure, whatever," he responds.

"Yeah, because y'know," Yamazaki begins matter-of-factly. "Paying back debts is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years, to the times of knights and chivalry. Some knights held their oaths to their fellow knights for as long as fifty years. In fact, one of the longest-kept oaths ever recorded was made by a knight who lived until age 85 when he-aaaa!" he rants before finding his ear grabbed and dragged off by the right hand of one of his fellow classmates.

"Yeah, yeah, that'll be enough of that," Chiharu interrupts. "Naoko-chan has some new ideas to put out."

Syaoran meanwhile stands in the middle of the stage, staring on completely shocked at how Chiharu had so calmly laid down the law for the umpteenth time. However, Syaoran's racing mind wouldn't let him balk in the sheer amazement that he usually has towards Chiharu cutting off one of Yamazaki's tall tales. "_One thing at a time. I already have a promise to keep…_" he reminds himself somberly.

"Okay everyone, huddle up!" Naoko calls out, signaling for Syaoran, Tomoyo and Mirror to rejoin the group. She rolls up her script and puts it under her arm as she puts her hands together in excitement. "First off, I'd like to thank everyone for their help. Over these last few weeks, we've gotten all our scenes down except this next one… and this will be the last scene of the play!" she announces joyfully, with cheerfully relieved responses from all there, including Mirror who subtly feigns along.

Naoko turns to Chiharu, Rika, and Yamazaki. "Now you two," she explains, pointing at Chiharu and Rika. "…have been captured by the Yella-Bellied Varmint," she now points at Yamazaki. "…and he tied the damsels of distress to the railroad tracks. And the only one who can save the day…" Naoko then points her script right at Mirror, putting her on the spot as all eyes fall on her. "…is the Lone-Star Sherriff."

Mirror nods nervously. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds okay. I- I can handle this… I can handle this…" she replies, though more as if speaking to herself.

"Sakura-chan, you're all flustered…" Naoko observes. "Are you sure you're alright with this?"

Mirror smiles back at Naoko, as best as she reckons that Sakura would in such a situation. "Oh it's alright, it's nothing, Chiha- uh, Ri- Naoko… chan," she replies, struggling to put both names and keigo to faces that she had learned but a few minutes ago.

Unsatisfied by Mirror's claims, Naoko leans in towards Mirror, scrutinizing the conjured disguise for any non-Sakura-like traits. Mirror stands still like a statue, even though she realizes that there is no cognitive hole in her disguise to one without magical powers. What bothered her particularly about Naoko was that, according to Create, Naoko was obsessed with the dealings of the paranormal. Could Naoko actually find a crack in the mirror?

"Hoee…" Mirror squeaks nervously in her most Sakura-like impression as possible.

Naoko quickly pulls back. "Well you look okay to me, Sakura-chan. Just calm down and relax. It's only a rehearsal." She pats Mirror enthusiastically on the shoulder. "Now break a leg out there!" she encourages, but gets a stiff, frightened look back from Mirror.

Naoko hurries down the stairs on the side of the stage and stands in the empty auditorium where she envisions that the front-row seats of the play would be placed. Up on stage, Yamazaki takes front and center, whipping forward his cape in a sinister looking way. Rika and Chiharu lay down on the 'railroad tracks', lying over the slack of the ropes to make them look tighter. Finally, Tomoyo and Syaoran drag a still-stunned Mirror by her arms to a part of the stage covered by the curtains.

Mirror whimpers pathetically off in a corner. "She just told me to break my leg! That kind of thing is usually painful! You heard her, didn't you?"

"Calm down," Tomoyo urges. "It's a theatre thing. Naoko-chan is just wishing you good luck," she clarifies.

Mirror glances at Tomoyo skeptically. "That's horrible! How _lucky_ is a broken bone?" she asks, still not quite comprehending the thespian idiom.

Syaoran grips his fists in frustration at Mirror's thickness. "Look, it's just an expression, you idiot! Just play along! Shouldn't be too awfully hard for you. It's not like this is the first time you've pretended to be someone you're _not_," he shouts softly, instilling a paralyzing fear in Mirror's wide green eyes.

Mirror looks back at Syaoran, even more frightened than before, and she soundlessly nods her head.

--

Naoko quickly surveys the stage, comparing the arrangement with the vision in her mind and finding everything in order. "Alright, places everybody. Now Yamazaki-kun, you're going to announce that no one can stop you, and then Chiharu-chan, you'll reply that the Lone Star Sherriff will come to the rescue, at which point Sakura-chan comes onto the stage and announces: 'Reach for the sky, ya' yella-bellied varmint!'," she directs. "Places everybody, places, and…" She points forward with her rolled-up script. "ACTION!" she shouts.

Taking his cue, Yamazaki whips his cape forward in a sinister-looking way. "Mwahahahahaha! No one can stop me now!" he insists, pulling off his role admirably.

Naoko stares forward with big, excited eyes as she watches her masterpiece unfold. "This is even better than I imagined it…" she mutters pridefully, but after a few moments' pause, she notices something amiss. Chiharu's line was next, to denounce the Yella-Bellied Varmint, but she remained completely silent.

Yamazaki notices Chiharu and Rika lying perfectly still on the railroad tracks, as if sleeping. "Psst! Chiharu-chan!" he whispers. "You're supposed to say 'You're wrong, the Lone-Star Sherriff will surely defeat you'. There's not a sleeping part…" he continues, but he turns his head in peculiarity when he also notices that Rika was also lying back unresponsively. Yamazaki breaks character as worry sweeps over him. "Chiharu-chan…? Rika-chan…?" he calls, though not as if to expect a reply.

Naoko shakes her head, first in disagreement, and later in horror. "Something's wrong here…"

Syaoran darts out from behind the curtains, with Tomoyo right behind him. "Hey, wake up!" Syaoran calls at the girls urgently, sensing more than just a little amiss.

Yamazaki leans over a motionless Chiharu. He reaches towards her face and gently lifts open one of her eyes, but he finds a strange black fog covering her eyes. Yamazaki shakes his head. "What?" he asks, having never seen anything like it before. Before Syaoran can get to his side, Yamazaki feels his body getting heavier. His sight dims as he loses sight of Chiharu and finally keels over.

Syaoran kneels down at Yamazaki's side. He shakes his head as he feels a burning sensation deep in his gut, but then this burning sensation is matched by a potent tingling on his right arm.

Tomoyo approaches cautiously and steadily behind Syaoran, but she stops dead in her tracks as Mirror calls out to her.

"Get back, everyone!" Mirror yells out, attempting to pull some of the curtains in front of her, as if to hide from something. She trembles violently. "We've all got to get out of here, or it'll get us all!" she whimpers ominously.

Naoko turns all around, searching vainly for some reason as to why Yamazaki and the other girls fell unconscious. "This is nothing like the stories… I-i-it's … strange. Is this what it's like… what it's _really_ like… to be in the presence of a-a-a… a ghost…?" she asks herself nervously.

"_Well, in a sense…_" a thunderously deep voice answers.

With a mighty clap of thunder, the overhead lights all go dead. With that, the only remaining lights are from the exit signs, powered by a backup generator somewhere. However, even to a bewildered Naoko, and particularly to a petrified Mirror, it was obvious that the lightning storm outside had nothing to do with the power outage.

Naoko begins to panic as the few lights from the exit signs begin to fade away. She paces around, feeling at her surroundings to get some bearings of her surroundings, but even the tapping of her shoes on the floor begin to fade away as well. "What's going on? Who's out there? Why are you doing this? …Why are- wait! My- my voice… I can't hear. I… I can't hear! I CAN'T HEAR!" she screams out in a loud panic.

"_Nothing personal, Yanagizawa Naoko, but for someone so obsessed with ghosts, I simply couldn't pass this opportunity up…_" the voice speaks to Naoko, and only Naoko, despite her inability to hear.

The voice drives Naoko into a flailing delirium. "Who-who's there? Who said that? Who… where… why… somebody… help… me…" she panics, before her fading voice finally falls silent. Due to the blinding darkness, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Mirror can only listen in as the mysterious force attacks Naoko. However, to these three, there's nothing mysterious about who, or what Naoko's assailant is.

"Naoko-chan? Naoko-chan? Are you alright? Naoko-chan?!" Tomoyo screams out, calling out to her friend, though in no way confident of an answer.

"We're all gonna' die…" Mirror whimpers meekly. "We're all gonna' die, we're all gonna' die, we're all gonna' die, we're all gonna'-"

"Shut up!" Syaoran yells at Mirror. "Alright Lycan, the jig is up. Show yourself, you big coward!" Syaoran screams out into the darkness.

"_Well, well, Xiaolang. You're really taking this Card Captor of Kaos thing seriously. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's almost as if you want to capture the Fade Card and be the rightful Card Captor of Kaos,_" the monstrous voice, undoubtedly Lycan's, answers.

"The _Fade_ Card?" Tomoyo asks. "Is that why it's so dark in here?" she calls out.

"Yeah, that would be it," Syaoran responds. "Fade is the last of the seven Kaos Cards left, and once I seal it away… well… zettai daijobu."

"Why doesn't that sound like a comforting assurance?" Tomoyo criticizes.

"Hey, back off!" Syaoran shoots back. "This is neither the time nor the place!"

"_Precisely, Xiaolang. The stage is no place for truth. In fact, it is a perfect place to act. To mislead. To deceive. To lie. Be it a pathetic charade of the triumphs of good over evil… or be it the mask that you've put on, Xiaolaong. Or, should I say, the mask you never took off?_"

"Li-kun, what does Lycan mean by that?" Tomoyo asks. "…What have you been hiding?" she adds grimly, having deduced something amiss about Syaoran's complete honesty as of late.

Syaoran remains perfectly still and quiet, and in the dead black, it would seem as if he had vanished into thin air.

"_Meheheheheheh… Xiaolang, you know in your heart that you don't have what it takes to be the Card Captor of Kaos. And for that reason, you know in your mind that you will not be able to defeat Fade._"

"Says you. I'll cut right through your shadows," Syaoran replies stoically.

All of a sudden, a brightly glowing rendition of the Circle of Kaos appears below Syaoran's feet. The flaming glow casts long shadows across the auditorium, allowing Syaoran to see around him. He and Tomoyo stand next to each other on the stage, while Mirror curls up in a ball like a frightened infant, trying to use the curtains as a cloak, but peeking out through a miniscule crack.

Lycan floats over the auditorium floor, his massive body like an imposing war machine or dinosaur in the wake of his victims. However, despite the bright flash of the Circle of Kaos, his body seems to absorb all the light that comes his way, in no way illuminated by the flash, save his ubiquitous bone mask. He stares onward with his typical, maddeningly-stoic expression.

At Lycan's feet, a decrepit, man-sized vulture flies in place over a fainted Naoko, who seemed to have miraculously waddled over to the stage steps before collapsing at Lycan's literally deafening insanity. What draws Syaoran's particular attention is how the bird seems to feast off a dark aura surrounding Naoko's body, but what is even more shocking and disturbing is that when the bird absorbs this energy into its mouth, its feathers fall out as its body seems to rot away. As it continues to ingest the energy, the decrepit state of the vulture grows even sicklier, to the point where it would seem like its morbid carrion body would dissipate into dust. In the midst of its feasting, Fade turns its empty, dry eye sockets right in Syaoran's direction. Despite a clear lack of eyeballs, Syaoran could tell that the vulture was staring him down as it gulped in the last of the dark aura surrounding Naoko. It lets out an ear-splitting, demonic wail, monstrously intimidating, but also filled with an overwhelming agony. Were it not such a ferocious scream of battle, it would sound as if Fade is crying out in pain.

Despite Fade's sickening display of power and personal debilitation alike, Syaoran remains unfazed as he begins the incantation to call forth his key. "Key hiding the Powers of the Inferno, show your true form before me." Syaoran removes his arm from his sling as he tosses the needless garment aside. "I, Xiaolang, command you under our contract…" he continues. Raising his arm, a glowing silhouette emits an orange light, piercing right through his unnecessary bandages. "Release!" Syaoran commands. In a spectacular flash of orange light, the bandages on his right arm shred away into countless pieces of fabric, all of which burn to thin ashes before blowing away in the magically induced wind. As the Circle of Kaos dissipates at Syaoran's feet, it is replaced by an even brighter-burning shine from the arrowhead loaded into the one-shot magazine along the spine of the Inferno Crossbow.

"Take a look at _this_ Kaos, Lycan!" Syaoran taunts. "Isn't this the kind of Kaos of the one that you want as the one true Card Captor of Kaos for all time?"

"Hah!" Lycan scoffs. "Just because you have a strong Kaos doesn't mean that you're the one I want as my Card Captor. As Yue doubtlessly already showed you before, it is not mere power that decides succession, but ability to complete the tasks further along the road. I've only ever seen one person qualified for the task in my two hundred years of searching. And you aren't that person. Fade Card, continue your feast!"

Fade takes a gliding bound up to the stage, where Yamazaki, Chiharu, and Rika lay unconscious. They all, like Naoko, have black auras around them, and as Fade had done to Naoko, it begins to inhale these auras. Fade howls in horrific agony as its body withers away, the paradox of feasting making it ever the weaker quite literally rotting it to the core. It arches over its victims, its strength failing it second after second, but the creature's insatiable thirst for the seemingly toxic aura continues to be its own gradual undoing.

Syaoran, in no mood to allow the Kaos Card to finish its feast, points his Inferno Crossbow at the frail target and lets fly with the ferociously-powerful shot. However, with the glare of the arrowhead obscuring his view, the bolt doesn't even connect with the beast. Instead, it sails straight overhead, ripping into the cloth curtain and quickly setting the fabric ablaze. The flames softly illuminate the auditorium, but as bright and hot as the flames burn, they fail to match the Kaos power which Syaoran had summoned to his aid. Seemingly oblivious to Syaoran's attempts to seal it, Fade continues to gorge on the shady energy.

Tomoyo backs away from Fade, taking cover behind Syaoran. "What… what is it eating?" Tomoyo asks.

"Their hope," a meek voice answers back, turning Syaoran's and Tomoyo's heads towards Mirror. Mirror doesn't cower in terror any further, but her eyes are glued onto Fade as she chokes down empathetic sobs for the pain of a fellow Card, even a Kaos Card. "Gin Clow created a card called The Swallow. It had the power to eat sadness, depression, suffering, and anything that would dull one's senses. It was an incredible creation, capable of doing so much good for so many people. But this Fade Card… Fade's victims lose their clarity, the hope with which they see, hear, and sense the world around them. Without their hope, they believe themselves to be… dead." Mirror explains morbidly.

"Yes…" Lycan confirms. "To forever suffer the despair of an impending death, but never being granted it, never knowing when the cold hand shall come to claim their souls. That is the most powerful Despair in the world. It is a Kaos whose power shall make my presence feared forever. A Kaos amongst Kaos. A true piece of my almighty essence. A taste of the greatest Kaos the world has ever known!" Lycan brags. He turns his stare at Syaoran. "_That_, Li Xiaolang, is what you would have to look forward to as my Card Captor of Kaos. To be the one to wield the darkest powers known to mankind. To plunge the world into fear and worship of an eternal Despair. And that is to be Kinomoto Sakura's destiny. The one to cement my infamous legacy as the greatest Kaos to walk this earth. The one to win me the power of my true master, the mighty Kaos Encarnate!"

"What do you mean by your_ true _master?" Syaoran asks with overwhelming perplexity, but as Lycan continues his stare back at Syaoran, he has an epiphany. His eyes widen. "Wait a second… _You're_ Kaos Gin!"

"Surprise!" Lycan bellows with pride. "Gin Clow was the name I went by in my life, before Reed banished me to this bodiless form. However, he failed to ultimately extinguish the Kaos that burned within the old me, and it was this Kaos from which I arose. It was the Kaos of having so much power, yet wasting it all on the fleeting comforts of mortals. The mortals whose memories dull, whose minds wither, and whose bodies rot away in the end, all of which lead to the futility and worthlessness of my sacrifices. But no… I would have none of that. Never would I bow to the whims of those who would not remember the name of Gin Clow. But that was when I realized the other path. The true path. Tyranny, Despair, and Kaos were to be my new power, and a life of submission as Gin Clow was behind me forever. Kaos Encarnate chose me to bring Kaos to the world, and upon my conquest, he promised me the world itself as my empire. It was Kaos Encarnate who gave me the power to conquer at the cost of my fallible, mortal soul. I was given a new identity that day. I was to be called 'Kaos Gin', though the mortals had their own name for me: Lycan. A name with which to brand me a demon, but one I took on with pride over the years, for it is a name that many feared. But now, at the glorious apex of my power, the pieces are almost in place, and I have paid my dues to Kaos Encarnate. Kinomoto Sakura, the possessor of a hidden Kaos, is to be my Card Captor, as an eternal reminder that even the brightest light harbors the darkness of all Kaos within. Kaos will be the new rule, and Hope itself will pass away, forgotten as a myth. None will oppose me in my empire. And none of _you_ will stand in the way of my glory!"

"Your _glory_?" Mirror responds boldly to Lycan, turning the wolf-demon's attention in her direction. She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a large handful of Clow Cards. "We Clow Cards love our Master very much, and we won't let you take her away." She pulls out a Clow Card from an arbitrary middle of the deck and holds it up. "And if you think we're gonna' stand by helplessly and let you steal our Master and turn her into some icon of despair for your empire, then you've got another thing coming!" she insists. She tosses the Clow Card in her hand out before her. "Light Card, my friend, smite this demon!" she orders.

Acting on its own, the Light Card releases itself from the magical bindings of the Clow Card. Like the glare of a bright star, the Light Card casts a pure white gaze across the entire auditorium as the card itself takes the true form of the Light Card. Light hovers high above the stage, as her white robes exude a soothing white light that stretches to all corners of the auditorium. Light opens her eyes to gaze upon Lycan, and at that instant the light that she had once spread across the auditorium focuses itself like a laser beam and fires at Lycan. However, despite the bright light of the beam, it passes directly into Lycan's shadowy body, absorbed fully and diverted into some netherworld, failing to even illuminate Lycan, much less harm him.

Lycan snickers at Light's attempt to blast him. "Clow Reed himself tried and failed to expunge me at my _weakest_. Surely, his creations are no match for me now."

Mirror grits her teeth as she hurls two more Clow Cards into the air. "Let's see you escape _this_! Windy! Fiery!" she calls out.

Both the Windy and Fiery Cards assume their true forms, the former a long-haired woman with fly-like wings, and the latter an androgynous angel with a flaming crown atop its head. Fiery and Windy levitate at either side of Mirror.

Windy is the first to make a move. Rushing straight at Lycan, she collides with Lycan's mask and her true form dissipates. Windy then becomes an invisible cyclone of wind that traps Lycan in place, though to no apparent discomfort for Lycan.

Fiery turns its gaze to the burning curtain at its right. With a waving motion to the flaming curtain, the flames leap off the curtains and condenses itself into a fireball in Fiery's hands. Now staring down the 'trapped' Lycan, Fiery forcefully launches this fireball straight at Lycan. As the fireball connects with the cyclone, the air explodes in bright combustion as Lycan is caught in a flaming tornado. Embers are thrown all across the auditorium, but only to flow magically back into the cyclone as the radius of the cyclone widens, eventually consuming Lycan's entire body, as well as the seemingly dormant Fade, which continued to levitate at Lycan's side before getting drawn into the searing heat. The flames continue to burn on, with Lycan showing no signs of escaping the cyclone, though outside the loud cracklings of the flame, nothing else can be heard.

Syaoran and Tomoyo both smile triumphantly as the flames suck in Lycan and his ethereal protégé, possibly defeating them, but their glee and relief proves premature when…

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHH!!"

A primal, ear-splitting roar rips apart the flaming hurricane from the inside-out and nearly strikes Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Mirror deaf. As the flames are tossed aside, Lycan holds one of his fore claws to the ground, pinning down the now-revealed true form of Windy. However, Windy's true form melts away as she retakes the form of a Clow Card. The card lies frozen still on the ash-blasted floor, but doesn't remain there for long. With a snap of his claw-like fingers, Lycan forcefully levitates the card in the air and tosses it straight back at Mirror, who catches the racing card despite nearly being knocked over by the force of the telekinetic throw.

Mirror looks at the art on the card and, to her horror, a translucent shadow covers Windy's picture. The twisting winds of shadow flicker up the Windy Card's portrait like a black fire. "Oh no, Windy-san! Are you alright? Windy-san? Windy-san?! What did Lycan do to you?!" she calls at the card, trying desperately to stir her fellow card to some kind of card-to-card response, but Windy remains motionless and silent in Mirror's hands, not even exuding as much as a magical presence. Mirror shakes her head as she tries and fails to hold back the tears. She falls to her knees. "No! Windy-san!" she cries, slamming her fists repeatedly against the stage floor to release her distraught anguish.

Lycan snickers in pride at his accomplishment. "You Clow Cards are as powerless as the day Reed created you. You all _transcend_ pathetic."

"You killed Windy-san, you _monster_!" Mirror shouts up at Lycan, as buckets of tears pour down her cheeks.

"A technicality," Lycan assures, though to no comfort to Mirror. "The Windy Card is _dying_, not dead. Not yet. With the powers of the Fade Card, the Windy Card's spirit can no longer draw magic from its master. And without an external source of magic, it is only a matter of time before the Windy Card's essence is eradicated. It is a painful death. Absolutely agonizing." Lycan pauses, savoring Mirror's terror with his eyes. "It is… a thing of _beauty_…" Lycan adds paradoxically.

"No…" Mirror replies. She stands to her feet as she fans out the remaining handful of Clow Cards still in her hand. "There's nothing beautiful about death and murder. But if you're going to kill the rest of us, then there's no point in holding back and being afraid. I'm not a crybaby anymore, Lycan. We love our Master, and won't abandon her while we still have a speck of magic left in our souls. We'll make you rue the day you crawled out of Gin Clow's nightmares… or we'll die trying!" she vows. The Circle of Clow appears below her feet, lighting the auditorium once again.

Syaoran begins to shake his head. "No… no, this is wrong…" he mutters.

Mirror forcefully picks two Clow Cards out of the handful and tosses them out before her. "Arrow Card! Shot Card!" she calls out, transforming the cards into a red blast of energy and a glowing white arrow respectively.

The two projectile attacks race towards Lycan, but at the very last possible second, Lycan opens his mouth and exhales a dark, shady tornado of wind, stopping the projectiles in their tracks and sending them flying backwards. A short moment later, two shade-sealed Clow Cards float to the ground at Mirror's feet like dead leaves.

With no time for remorse, Mirror grabs another handful of cards and throws them out. "Sword! Watery! Mist! Jump!" The cards all assume their true forms at Mirror's beckoning, but before Lycan can strike them down, Mirror frantically calls out cluster upon cluster of her kin. "Shadow! Thunder! Glow! Fight! Silent! Lock! Power! Wood!" Mirror continues to indiscriminately call upon her fellow Clow Cards as her handful of cards empties and her brethren appear about her. Shortly, all the Clow Cards assume their true forms as they rally around Mirror. Those with eyes lock their gazes at Lycan, and those without merely turn in Lycan's direction. "Everyone…" Mirror calls conclusively, as she is surrounded by the warm and familiar presence of her fellow cards.

Despite the overwhelming magical energies around Mirror, Syaoran can only shake his head. "This isn't right…" he repeats to himself.

Mirror rallies her Clow Cards around her, despite Lycan's clear apathy to Mirror's army of cards. "Get ready. We're gonna' show Lycan how much Sakura-sama means to us… A- hey, get off!" she declares, but before she can send her fellow cards into the fray, Syaoran holds her arm back.

"Stop this!" Syaoran yells at the warmongering Mirror. "You may be their friend, but you're not their tyrant. Don't send them off to their deaths! You don't have the right!"

"The _right_?!" Mirror responds in disgust. She shakes her head. "For an ancestor of Clow-sama's, you don't know the first thing about us. And you never did! It's no surprise that Yue-sama defeated you. You don't even love Sakura-sama enough to lay down your life for her, even though she thinks the world of you!" She turns her attention to her sloppy ranks of fellow cards, and Syaoran loosens his grip on Mirror's arm, having felt a powerful and shocking blow from Mirror's words.

Amongst the Clow Cards, so few of them are battle-capable, or even have the fighting temperament. However, from the capable to the feeble, from the young and exuberant to the old and withering, from the hot-tempered to the pacifists, the Clow Cards maintain their focus, courage, and hope, despite their clear demise being ahead of each and every one of them. It was no secret. They weren't designed for combat or war, and while some could, many, many more were virtually defenseless. Not one of them would survive combat against Lycan, yet not one of them seemed to care.

"Everyone!" Mirror calls out with a bravery and persistence otherwise alien to her. "CHARGE!" Mirror calls out, sending the perching cards into a frenzy of charging and lunging at the monstrous Lycan.

Lycan meanwhile stands his ground, cracking his mouth open slightly, allowing a cold, morbid fog to flow from his open jaws like a fountain. He whips back his neck before spitting a wave of cold, shady energy at his attackers. With this mighty yet seemingly effortless blast, Lycan's fog-breath knocks back every last one of the Clow Cards. Not one was spared from the black cyclone of death. The cards' shocked, pain-filled expressions are the last emotions they show before turning back into cards. Mirror can only stare on as the heartbreaking rain of her fallen friends flutter to the ground like snowflakes. Lost, dead snowflakes.

The blasts of dark wind envelop Syaoran and Tomoyo as well, but these blasts are far depleted from their original magical strength, the Clow Cards having taken the brunt of Lycan's attack. Syaoran feels a creeping darkness begin to crawl over him, but he holds onto his grip on reality with the strength of his magic and the Kaos-based nature of the Inferno Crossbow. He couldn't stand much more, and there wouldn't be much left of him, he _would_ survive this attack. Unfortunately for Syaoran's companion though, Tomoyo had no such artefacts or magic power to fall back on, and as a look of horror overcomes her, a black fog covers her eyes.

As the deathly hurricane falls dead, Syaoran catches a fainted Tomoyo, her senses completely overtaken by Fade. "Daidouji-san!" Syaoran screams out, trying hopelessly to recussitate Tomoyo, but he knew full well that his mere efforts wouldn't be enough to beat a Kaos Card's magic. What was worse yet was that, despite surviving, he could still feel the effects of Fade's magic as his senses begin to blur. In mere moments, Fade would claim him, too. Laying Tomoyo down gently on the stage, Syaoran then squints hard to focus on his open hand, and he grits his fist to reassert his confidence to himself.

Lycan doesn't pay heed to Tomoyo's collapse, or even Syaoran's impending surrender to Fade's power, choosing instead to bask in a much more gratifying act of desolation. He basks in the rain of the fallen, martyred Clow Cards like a spring rain. "Ah, the nuisances have been silenced…" he begins before turning his attention to Mirror, and the fading Syaoran, the last two survivors of his last attack. "Well, _almost_ all of the nuisances. Last card standing, Mirror. How does it feel? To have thrown away the lives of your fellow Clow Cards, condemning your own brothers and sisters to the misery of the remainder of their existence? Knowing that you still stand?" Lycan cackles maliciously, but Syaoran interrupts him.

"Leave her alone!" Syaoran shouts, intervening for Mirror. "Lycan, that was uncalled for, and you know it. The Clow Cards didn't have the power, nor ever would they, to defeat you. Why did you make them suffer? Is that _your_ Kaos? The fact that you're no longer human and can no longer take pleasure from giving back to your fellow man? The Kaos of now being forced to derive your twisted pleasures from the misery of others? Is that what you traded your humanity for? I'm not going to let Sakura fall down the same path you fell down. _I'm _the Card Captor of Kaos. _I'm _the threat to your empire. And _I'm _the one who will defeat you!" Syaoran vows confidently, undeterred by Fade's noticeably increasing effects.

"Your threats are groundless, Xiaolang," Lycan replies, snickering at Syaoran's empty boasts. "Why, you can't even stand up straight…" As the last remnants of illumination from the defeated Clow Cards fades away, so too does Lycan's body. In the dark and dreary shadows, only Lycan's glowing red eyes appear.

"You may be a Card Captor of Kaos…" Lycan begins. "... but you're in my element now. Despair. I am ripe with power at the desperation of the fallen Cards of Clow who try to hang onto the physical world. As they struggle for their very breath, as they are magically suffocated, I grow stronger still. You cannot match strength with me here. And so, you will never be my Card Captor!"

Lycan's red eyes flicker out of sight from Syaoran's vision, which to Syaoran can only mean one thing. But all of a sudden, in the blinding darkness, he feels a petite form throw her arms over him. With his magic, he can feel Mirror desperately cling to him.

"Please…" Mirror whispers in Syaoran's ear, but for once throwing off the old voice of her disguise and using instead her true voice. "You're the last one who can help Sakura-sama. Promise that you'll save her. Promise us that you won't let anything bad happen to her. Promise us that you'll protect her with your very _life_," Mirror begs. She sniffles and trembles, her previous fortitude completely decimated.

With his eyes worthless in the pitch black darkness, and even worsening due to Fade's continual debilitation, Syaoran focuses his magical concentration in order to see with the eyes of his magical powers. What he sees shocks him. Lycan was preparing to fire another blast of Fade magic at him, but in addition to throwing herself over him, Mirror had interposed her true form, a large, full-body mirror, in between him and Lycan. However, Lycan seemed not to care that he would miss his likely intended target. To Lycan, it seemed not so much about winning the war as inflicting as much agony as possible. Syaoran sees what Mirror was trying to do, and it fills him with tension as he is now burdened with not only protecting Sakura, but avenging the Clow Cards and the sacrifice they all made on Sakura's behalf.

"I promise," Syaoran responds somberly to Mirror.

A mighty gust blasts at Syaoran and Mirror. Syaoran feels Mirror's grip loosen around him. Syaoran hopes to himself that this is because Mirror had heard his promise and was relieved, not because of Fade's sufocating powers. It would've been the least he could have done for her, as well as all the other Clow Cards, to give her some glimmer of hope before she disappeared. Not only for the sake of sewing a kink in Lycan's magical armor and arrogance, but for the Clow Cards' own sake. They had sacrificed themselves to help Syaoran finish a fight that they weren't even involved in. Suddenly, Mirror vanishes, leaving behind only the costume which she had donned while in disguise, and the last trace of her powers, the card that she was, enveloped forever by a black shadow of death.

"Fifty-two cards. Fifty-two bodies," Lycan mocks. "Even after Fade is sealed away, while the spirits of the humans may return freely, the essences of the Clow Cards are injured beyond healing, and shall _never_ return. Ask yourself then, Li Xiaolang, how can you protect Kinomoto Sakura from me when you yourself must be protected by the vain sacrifice of the Clow Cards?"

Syaoran stares down. Although it isn't much different than staring off anyplace else in the room, without any lights to speak of, he simply tries to avoid giving Lycan the satisfaction of eye contact. He holds up his right arm, still bearing the fully-armed Inferno Crossbow, and he calls to the device another bright orange arrow, both with which to fight and with which to see, overcoming some, but not all, of Fade's magical effects.

The first thing Syaoran sees is, at his side, Tomoyo laying at his feet, with a black aura surrounding her. This black aura slowly flows away from her, like a river, straight into a pool below Lycan. Similar auras also spill away from the fallen Clow Cards on the ground before Lycan, as well as from the fallen Mirror Card at Syaoran's feet. This pool of shade then evaporates upwards, flowing right into Lycan's very body, either because Fade is hiding in Lycan, or because Lycan has absorbed Fade's powers, Syaoran deduces. No matter, though. Despite Syaoran's burning outrage at the atrocities, he remains deathly silent as he pulls a slip of rolled up yellow paper from his pocket. Unrolling the paper reveals stretched out Mandarin characters running down the length of the ofuda.

"You've been left unchecked for far too long. It's about time I put a stop to your conquest," Syaoran boasts. He holds up his ofuda and lets go of it, but by pointing his palm at the paper, it levitates rigidly in the air. Syaoran then aims his Inferno Crossbow straight through the ofuda, right at Lycan's bone mask, his apparent 'weak spot'. "Summon: Lance of Zeus!" Syaoran commands, invoking the Rites of Kaos.

The orange bolt launches straight into the ofuda, but the ofuda reacts by glowing a bold red before unleashing a massively-potent bolt of lightning straight at Lycan's mask, which incurs a violent explosion. However, after the smoke clears, despite the incredible strength and true aim of the lightning, Lycan remains steady, having suffered no ill effects from the attack. In fact, Lycan even remains speechless, a confusing rarity to a bewildered Syaoran, considering the enjoyment Lycan seems to derive from deriding his prey. Syaoran grits his teeth, quickly running out of ideas. Simply to maintain the light, he loads another bolt into the Inferno Crossbow, but as he points the bolt at Lycan, he holds his fire, trying to concoct a Plan B on the spot.

"What's the matter, Lycan? Cat got your tongue?" Syaoran asks.

Lycan would not answer so quickly though, as unbeknownst to Syaoran, Lycan meditates in place, his very body in a trance as his mind communes.

"_Be still, Lycan. I am coming to you._"

"_Lord Kaos… It is time for your awakening, already?_"

"_Of course not. In this world, there is no such thing as coincidence. I will arrive when Hitzusen itself dictates that I shall, and until that moment, you will wait and obey, if you truly wish to see your empire._"

"_Yes, but Lord Kaos… your time draws nearer and nearer. When shall you arise?_"

"_You question me?_"

"_No my lord, but… I humbly await my promised glory. I await the dominion which you swore to me in your great power would be mine. I have been a faithful servant, have I not?_"

"_Your servitude and hidden aspirations are a secret to no one, Lycan. I know you seek your empire, and that is why you serve me. Your glory shall come, Lycan, I assure you. There is but one last order of business to attend to. You must destroy Li Syaoran. When he has left this world, then you shall see me._"

"_It will be an honor to do your bidding._"

"_Oh no, Lycan… the honor… is mine…_"

Lycan emerges from his trance to feel the pattering of lightning bolts exploding harmlessly off the surface of his mask. While within his trance, Syaoran had taken to using the Rites of Kaos to fire continual barrages of lightning Rites at him, supposedly to dislodge and seal the Fade Card. However, Lycan knew that Syaoran was incapable of this, and Fade's growing powers over him made this not only a difficult prospect, but a dangerous one, as his Kaos magic depletes further and further, leaving less and less to hold back Fade's magic.

As Lycan begins to twitch and stir, Syaoran loads one last bolt before grabbing his ofuda and ceasing his attacks, finding himself winded after the expenditure of such large bursts of his magic in such great succession. "All… hail… Kaos… Encarnate!" Lycan declares, his first words out of his trance. With a mighty roar, he prepares to unleash one last blast of Fade magic. "Yes, it is true! With your elimination, Li Xiaolang, I will finally achieve my glory! Kaos Encarnate will appear, and the Earth itself will be the throne of my great new Empire of Kaos!"

CRASH!

A sudden loud noise draw both Syaoran's and Lycan's attention, forcing Lycan to call off his blast of black hurricane energy. Lycan grumbles at the interruption to his rant, but his grumbles cease as he sees one of the auditorium doors to the outside literally smashed off its hinges and thrown several feet into the auditorium. The still rumbling thunderstorm outside lets loose with a mighty flash of lightning, casting the shadow of the newcomer across the long floor.

Syaoran lowers his Inferno Crossbow, and despite the deterioration of his sight, he recognizes the girl at the door as none other than Kinomoto Sakura, which causes him to blush slightly at her sight. However, in all seriousness, even though it was indeed Sakura and not just another look-alike clone this time, something was still amiss about her.

Sakura wears her springtime Tomoeda Elementary uniform, despite the cold winds and rain of the outside storm, though she seemed not to mind any aspect of the storm at all. Also, around Sakura's neck, she wears the Elixir of Fire's bottle, still full with the glowing fluid. Syaoran takes this as a mixed blessing. On one hand, Sakura had apparently not broken her seeming addiction to the Elixir's Kaos power, but on the other hand, she wasn't using the Elixir's power at the moment. But then the question arose in Syaoran's mind: if Sakura isn't using the Elixir of Fire, how did she just blast the door in like that? The most likely answer in Syaoran's mind troubled him greatly…

"Ah," Lycan announces invitingly. "My hand-picked Card Captor of Kaos, and my ticket to glory, has finally arrived."

"Can it, Lycie-chan!" Sakura remarks sharply. "I'm here for your Kaos Card of Despair, and I won't take 'no' for an answer." Skating into the auditorium, she takes a superhuman bounding leap, launching her straight up onto the stage, right next to Syaoran, where she screeches her skates to a sudden stop. Yet as she moves, the faded air around her glows brightly, as if the darkness was but a veil and Sakura's very presence lifted it away.

"Oh hi, Shounen. You still happy to see me?" Sakura asks innocently, as if absolutely nothing was amiss.

Syaoran squints away from the sudden blast of seemingly blinding light and turns a cold shoulder to Sakura. "You shouldn't have come here. I had everything under control."

Sakura looks around the entire auditorium, hindered in no way by Fade's powers at all, seeing the entire auditorium in the light. She observes the dark burns below Lycan, as well as the fallen Clow Cards and unconscious bodies strewn around. "Yeah, _sure_ Shounen. You've clearly got Lycie-chan right where you want him. I must just be imagining this place looking like you're getting your puppy-dog tail handed to you," she responds sarcastically.

Syaoran, having had enough of this corrupted Sakura, moves to shove Sakura over, which he reasoned would be monumentally easy with her on rollerblades. But as soon as he attempts it, the force with which he pushes against Sakura multiplies and rebounds against him, knocking him clear across the stage.

Lycan's stare follows Syaoran as he sails across the stage. "Now you see the power of the true Card Captor of Kaos, Li Xiaolang. You now comprehend, do you not? You cannot hold me from my empire any further!"

Sakura meanwhile begins giggling to herself, right in the middle of Lycan's rant. "Aww, isn't that cute? Lycie-chan thinks he's getting an empire all to himself…" she muses. "For such an old and self-proclaimed powerful being, you sure are easy to dupe. In fact, when I put you down for good, I might almost miss that about you…" she boasts.

Lycan quickly turns in Sakura's direction, focusing his bright red gaze on the one true thorn in his side. "You think you can usurp my rule of Kaos, Kinomoto Sakura?" Lycan challenges. "I have been selected by Kaos Encarnate itself to bring Kaos to this world and rule it over. You are but a child, recently awakened to your own Kaos, whereas I have practiced the art for over two centuries! How could _you_ possibly stop me?"

Sakura only smirks back before replying in a voice many, many octaves lower. "By Kaos Encarnate… you mean me?" she replies deeply, perfectly in the tone with which Kaos Encarnate speaks to Lycan. "You really think I'm going to let you rule over this world?" she answers back in her normal voice. "You really think I would bow before you and let you take what is rightfully _mine_? No, Kaos Gin, the rewards of Kaos are not for the weak, like you. I've been the one whispering in your ear, silently speaking your orders to you from the shadows. _I've _been the one using _you _as my puppet. And all for _my_ power. For _my_ glory. For my empire… and my freedom from this wretched existence!"

Lycan is struck in shock by this. "_You_ were the one speaking to me?! This whole time?! Th-that's impossible! Impossible! The glory! It shall be mine! You hear me, you snot-nosed brat?! Miiiiiiiiiine!!" Lycan snarls angrily at Sakura.

Sakura goes through the motions of pulling out the star key from around her neck. "Forget it, Lycie-chan. You're living in the past. I'm the future now! Key hiding the Powers of the Inferno, show your true form before me. I, …Kaos Sakura… command you under our contract: Release!" she orders. As a pale, burning white energy spills out of Sakura's eyes and mouth, it envelops the Star Key, transforming it instead into the bird-skull-tipped Key of Kaos which Sakura had been using this whole time.

To Syaoran's mortification, Sakura had summoned her Key of Kaos not with the Elixir of Fire, but with her own Kaos, and with the name Kaos Sakura. Syaoran stumbles slowly to his feet, seeing his defeat imminent. The last of his Kaos magic wears out, and the last of his senses disappear, though Lycan and Sakura are too preoccupied with one another to pay Syaoran any attention.

"I'm sorry…" Syaoran mutters, unbeknownst to Sakura. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect you…" he finishes, collapsing weakly on the stage.

Sakura twirls her wand around a few times, contemplating to herself. "Kaos Sakura… Something about that doesn't sound quite fitting. How am I supposed to rule the world with a name like 'Sakura'? Perhaps a new, more fitting title for this self is in order. Not the light and weak springtime cherry blossoms of hope… but a white flower of the most pale death. Hmm… 'Orchid' will do."

Lycan literally foams at the mouth like a rabid animal, summoning forth the mightiest Fade powers he can muster. "You may call yourself Chrysanthemum for all I care, you even more so than all the others shall learn to fear me come my empire! Before, you were to just be my Card Captor, but no… that is clearly not deserved anymore. No… you will be my _slave_!"

Lycan unleashes the mighty blast of wind at Sakura, but as the wind smashes into her, it fails to cause any debilitating effect to her. Instead, Sakura closes her eyes and seems to bask in the 'gentle' wind as it blows softly through her hair. She sighs blissfully, getting more enjoyment than despair from Lycan's most ferocious attack yet.

"That feels soooo good…" Sakura mutters softly, basking comfortably in the hurricane-strong gale, but one that, to her, feels like a cool breeze. "Hey Lycie-chan, you think you could come back this summer and try to establish your Empire of Kaos then? Because that'd just be _heavenly_…" she teases playfully.

Lycan snarls even louder. "While Fade may not be able to harm you, I'd like to see you try and capture it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… you shall not live long enough to do…" Lycan threatens. "I will exhaust your Kaos magic, and when you are once more a weak, pathetic little girl, I shall begin my new empire by establishing the fear of Kaos firmly in your heart! You shall never again make a mockery of me…"

The shadows around Lycan shrink away, revealing more and more of the auditorium. Even Lycan's imposing presence shrinks down and, though clearly still larger than the tallest grown man, Lycan is hardly any longer the imposing giant that he appeared as to Syaoran and the others. Lycan's bony wings extend magically out his spine, allowing Lycan to retain an actual flight, rather than merely hovering in the shade.

"If you want the Fade Card," Lycan tells Sakura. "…you'll have to catch me!" Lycan begins soaring about rapidly, almost too fast for Sakura's eyes to keep up.

However, despite Lycan's quick moves, Sakura remains undeterred. Throwing out a Kaos Card, she taps the Key of Kaos against the end of it. "Bid me ride upon the wings of the darkest dreams! Nightmare Card!" Sakura's staff reforms into the winged scythe form of the Nightmare. Sitting atop the handle, Sakura and Nightmare take to the air, in hot pursuit of Lycan. Finding the shady beast, Sakura, locks her eyes onto it and leans forward, as Nightmare speeds up its flight.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, Lycan cracks a wicked smirk. '_I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve for adversaries like you, usurper…_' Lycan thinks to himself as he races back towards the stage. He disappears back behind the curtains, with Sakura in hot pursuit.

Sakura passes behind the curtains and jumps off the Nightmare Card. Landing hard right on her skates, she zips around backstage, chasing right after Lycan, but when she arrives behind the stage and skids to a stop, she finds nothing out of the ordinary. Skating slowly through the dressing area and clutching Nightmare tightly, she scans every shadow in the backstage areas. Meanwhile, Lycan's cacophonous laughter echoes out.

"_Who's more powerful now, Sakura-chan?_" Lycan mocks from the shadows, savoring the sweet vengeance as he turns the tables on Sakura.

"The name …is Orchid," Sakura responds. Turning around quickly to swing the Nightmare, her blade cleaves through nothing but thin air and shadow. Sakura stares around nervously before she skates out the other end of the backstage area, but before she can emerge, a shady crocodile-like tail quickly approaches from behind and knocks her off her feet. Sakura barely avoids a painful rear-end collision with the hard wood floor by leaning back on the Nightmare like a cane, but her landing proves inevitable as the swinging shadowy tail knocks the Nightmare off balance, allowing Sakura to fall backwards with a thud and a startled shriek.

"_None can defeat me from the shadows!_" Lycan insists, swinging his tail down right into Sakura's stomach, causing her to flinch, but the shady tail vanishes away as quickly as it had appeared.

Sakura grabs sorely at her stomach and sides, curling her knees in towards her chest as she still reels from the quick, surprise impacts.

Lycan materializes, leaning over Sakura and places his heavy right paw over her body to hold her down. "Do you yet see your place? Your young Kaos is weak and pathetic. You were once untouchable to me. Not like when you used the Elixir of Fire to supplement your own Kaos. It looks like your power has run out already. What's worse though is that you are no longer on my good side. I'll rip your tiny body limb from limb, and your tortured soul shall be like a toy to me, something which I may use and abuse forevermore for my own amusement. And even if my promised empire will not come to me as easily as I had hoped, I'll simply shed the blood of all those who oppose me until my rulership of this entire plane of mortality is absolute."

Sakura ignores Lycan's continued rantings as she turns her head towards the Nightmare, which lay but arm's reach at her side. But before she can grab the Nightmare, Lycan's telekinetic gaze sends it flying clear across the backstage area, well out of Sakura's reach.

"No more flying around and slashing for you, _Kinomoto Sakura_," Lycan tells Sakura diminutively. He leans his face in further and further towards her, breathing down over her with the heavy, putrid stench of death. "Join the shadows…" Lycan beckons, opening his giant maw wide to swallow Sakura whole.

Sakura grabs hold of Lycan's jaws, much to Lycan's shock, and she holds Lycan's mouth away from her, her feeble frame somehow putting up an even match of strength against Lycan's clearly superior stature. She finally forces herself to her feet, all the while holding open the jaws of the struggling Guardian of Despair. Even standing on her wheeled skates, Lycan finds budging Sakura impossible. He then notices a white, glowing aura covering Sakrua's entire body, and the reason for Sakura's superhuman strength without the Elixir of Fire becomes evident.

"Bad dog…" Sakura scolds playfully as she seems to exert no physical effort to hold Lycan's jaws open, but her eyes snap wide open as she notices a twinkling glimmer in the deep darkness of Lycan's maw.

With a surprising force to Sakura, Lycan lets loose a burst of Fade wind and, while not having its intended sense-blocking effect, it does knock her grip loose and sends her rolling away involuntarily on her rollerblades, all the way across the backstage area. Sakura trips as her rollerblades run backwards over the Nightmare that lay in her backwards path and she lands hard on her back like a ton of bricks. With the aid of the white aura of energy surrounding her, she just barely gets off the ground and rolls over as Lycan's imposing form lunges over to her and slams his feet down hard on the stage where she had tripped, missing Sakura by mere inches. Not skipping a beat, Sakura scoops the Nightmare off the ground and, with a feroucious spinning swing, she smashes the Nightmare right into Lycan's mask like a baseball bat, sending the Kaos Guardian flying all the way across the backstage area. Lycan crashes into the opposite wall like a meteorite, roaring in loud agony upon impact, leaving a sizable impact crater before falling limply to the ground.

As Lycan takes his time to struggle to stand up on all four feet, Sakura leans on the Nightmare for support as she falls to her knees in exhaustion. She breathes in long, deep breaths as the aura around her body seems to have passed, to even a sore Lycan's amusement.

Lycan cackles while struggling to reclaim his vertical base. "Well, well, Orchid, your Kaos is quite powerful… for a time. You have learned much from the Elixir of Fire. You have learned the energy and the hatred it takes to gain true power. To send me reeling. And in pain, no less! I am almost… _proud _of you…" Lycan responds, still flinching from Sakura's flurry, but his morale remains undeterred as he even seems to even enjoy the pain. "Unfortunately for you, however, you are still far too inexperienced to call on your own Kaos consistently. Look at you!" Lycan belittles.

Sakura can only stare Lycan right in his red, glowing eyes as she perspires heavily and struggles to breathe, completely unable to answer Lycan.

Lycan leers diminutively at Sakura. "You can call upon your Kaos for bursts of strength every now and again, but every time you suffer for it. You can't keep it up…" Lycan criticizes. "…And were you not such an insolent _witch_ out to steal my glory, I might have let you live… to train you further in the ways of Kaos..."

Sakura shakes her head at Lycan's accusation. "Bite me," she spits back with toxic spite. The white aura begins to build up again as Sakura's fading strength begins returning to her.

Lycan unfurls his mighty shade-membraned wings again and he lifts himself off the ground. Sakura stands fully to her feet and prepares to swing at Lycan again. The two competitors throw themselves quickly at one another, exchanging earth-shaking clashes of steel, bone, and auras as they race past one another, taking the occasional swing as they pass.

After several passes, Sakura finds herself racing towards the wall, right immediately after a pass, but the aura around her begins to give way again. Were she to try another pass, Lycan would most likely score a fatal blow, Sakura reasoned. She leans in towards the wall as she tries to catch her breath, but Lycan races straight towards Sakura like a torpedo, undeterred and seemingly inexhaustible. Just barely noticing Lycan barreling her direction, she soumersaults right out of the way at the last minute, sending Lycan diving right into the shadow-covered wall like a diver into a pool, submerging himself fully in the shadow.

Sakura quickly struggles to her feet, but she only winds up slipping and falling on her knees, her rollerblades now beginning to impair her mobility instead of augmenting it. Relegated to crawling on her hands and knees, dragging Nightmare along beside her, she frantically scurries out from behind backstage until she meets with the bright lights of the auditorium. Safe in the illumination without any notably large or dark patches of shadow around, she quickly and masterfully unclasps the bindings on her rollerblades and slips her feet out of the now cumbersome footwear. With her feet now only covered by her socks, she stands up easily and continues to catch her breath. She continues to lean against Nightmare for support.

Lycan's maniacal snickers return to Sakura's ears.

"Well…? What're you waiting for, Lycie-chan? Come and get me!" Sakura taunts.

"_I move according to my own will. I don't take orders from the likes of you!_"

"And you never will, with _that_ attitude…" Sakura teases sarcastically, but while pacing about in nervous anticipation.

"_You think you're sooooo smart, don't you? Hiding in the light, as if I am deterred by it… No, Kinomoto Sakura, the light doesn't kill me. Its absence merely gives me more hiding places…_"

"The name's Orchid, Lycie-chan. And it sounds to me like you're nothing but a big chicken for hiding from a little girl," Sakura concludes snidely.

"_The wolf merely waits for its prey to make a mistake, or to get too exhausted to run. For, you see, even death itself is a way of life._" Lycan pauses for a brief snicker. "_Though I'd bet this isn't the first time you've been stalked by a wolf. Though the wolf I'm thinking of is… quite little, meheheheheheheh…_"

Sakura's aura spikes, the white glow growing back in strength and enveloping her body once again. "If you're referring to the Shounen, he…" she pauses, struggling to continue her rebouttal. "...he means… he means _nothing _to me!" she shouts aloud defiantly. "The only reason I tolerate that little boy around is because he's proven quite effective at taking your Kaos Cards from you. So that when I take the last card, it'll be easy to defeat him and take away his three, and then I'll have all seven to myself. _That _is what that pathetic Shounen means to me. He's a stepping stone, and nothing more!"

"_Convince yourself otherwise as you may, you cannot run from your true feelings. You cannot let harm come to Li Xiaolang because you will it not. In fact, were it not for your love for him, you never would've made it this far. It was your love for him that drove you to confront the Industry Card in the museum, all because you refused to let him fight the Kaos Cards on his own. It was your love for Xiaolang that called him to your aid to defeat the Nightmare Card, because what other force could break through the Nightmare? And it was your love for Xiaolang that led you to track down the Mirage Card in the forest that night... because you didn't want him to be confused and distressed by Mirage. Your love for him shapes you, Kinomoto Sakura..._"

Unbeknonwst to Sakura, a pair of glowing red eyes appear in her shadow across the stage, and these shadows lift up behind Sakura and blow past her with a mighty blast of wind. The dark energies exploding from the shadows reunite in the middle of the auditorium, eventually flowing back and reforming into Lycan's shape.

"Ah, yes, 'Orchid'. I see through the conundrum of your heart. And right when I think I had you figured out, your real Kaos turned out to be your war against your own feelings," Lycan derides paradoxically, speaking to Sakura as if some 'real' part of her was at a great distance. "Yet, nevertheless, love is incompatable with the powers that Kaos bestows. And just as a speck of cancer can destroy the body, so too will you, Orchid, be destroyed by the feelings of love within Kinomoto Sakura. No matter what happens here today, even if I am destroyed here, you will never achieve the heights of anarchy and nihilism that I am capable of, and your reign as the greatest of all Kaos will always be set apart from you because of Kinomoto Sakura."

Sakura smirks wickedly, her inner Kaos reaching an epiphany with dire consequences. "Just hold onto that thought, Lycan. The war in my heart isn't over yet," she boasts, reaching towards the lanyard with the Elixir of Fire's bottle on it. Holding it up and clutching it tightly, paying no heed to the once-searing heat that the Elixir had on her at very first, she reachesto place her thumb on the beaked valve that will release the Elixir of Fire when depressed. "Only a true Kaos can destroy these feelings inside of me for good. When I use the Elixir of Fire, Kinomoto Sakura will be purged from my very soul by these flames. Never again will these feelings of love plague me, and I _will _take away your empire for myself, Lycan. I've come this far already, and I'm not going to let anyone, you, the Shounen, or even Kinomoto Sakura stop me!"

Acting through Sakura, Orchid depresses the valve, allowing the mighty Elixir of Fire to pour out, flowing like fresh blood on the winds, and howling out with the tortured screams of a thousand lost souls. Orchid grins in confidence at the thought of her liberation from Sakura's love, but something strange and unexpected happens with the Elixir of Fire. As opposed to how the Elixir of Fire normally takes residence inside Sakura, this time the Elixir of Fire flows straight towards Lycan. The very bottle and lanyard themselves are mystically drawn up and out of Sakura's grasp, heading straight for Lycan as well. With an open maw, the energy from the Elixir of Fire flows straight into Lycan's mouth, causing the already-fearsome beast to increase in size by the very second. The Elixir of Fire's bottle and lanyard fall into Lycan's mouth, dissipating into the nether-dimension of Lycan's body, and causing Lycan to swell up to the size of a house taking up most of the available space left in the ever-cramping auditorium. Orchid stares on in shock as not only is Lycan growing in power, but as she is losing grasp of the only force she knows of that can rid her of her accursed love.

"No, Orchid, I will have none of that!" Lycan insists. "You forget whose Kaos the Elixir of Fire is. I am Kaos Gin, and the Elixir of Fire is _my _Kaos! It shall never desert me in my time of need, nor shall it abandon me for another, for I have truly become one with it. And yet, had you the same two centuries to prepare for this moment that I had, your own Kaos might have been sufficient to put us on equal footing. But as it stands, your Kaos is but a flickering candle. But my Kaos... has just been rejuvenated!" Lycan boasts.

Letting out a ferocious roar, Lycan lets loose a blast of Fade wind upwards to the lights above the auditorium, and these blasts darken the very ceiling with a thick, black fog that plunges the auditorium into a heavy cloud of darkness. Occasional cracks of illumination dart around amongst these clouds, accompanied by the tempo of a deep rumbling thunder, revealing Lycan's vastly increased stature, but Orchid's power aura allows her to see Lycan fully well without the aid of the lightning. Unfortunately for her, this is all that she can seem to do.

Orchid stands strong nonetheless, despite the odds of facing down an even more powerful Lycan seeming like far too much for her to bear. Thinking quickly, she comes up with a solution. "I don't have to beat your Kaos, Lycan! All I have to do is capture the Fade Card that hides inside of you, and then you'll be completely disarmed.

"_While yes, it is true to some extent my powers will dissipate, it's not entirely accurate,_" Lycan thinks to himself. "_There are... other sources…_"

"You know that Fade hides within me… but the question remains whether or not you can seize it," Lycan challenges.

Taking the challenge, Orchid dispels the Nightmare from the Key and pulls out a different Kaos Card, which she quickly taps her wand against. "Go, and retrieve the Fade Card from inside Lycan! Industry Card!" Orchid commands.

After she taps her wand against the Industry Card, three metal cables shoot out of it, heading straight for Lycan's mask like possessed spears. With his newfound size increase, Lycan finds the auditorium too cramped to dodge the Industry effectively, but it matters not as the cables hit his bone mask and ricochet right off, like the waters of a river against a hard rock.

Orchid scoffs at the uselessness of the Industry against Lycan's enhanced fortitude. "Weaklings…" she derides, hanging her head and staring down, but something near to her feet catches her eye.

Where the Mirror Card once was, the outfit that she left behind still has the added holsters attached to the belt, where two model pistols rest within their holsters at either of the wearer's sides. Orchid stares curiously at the model pistols and she reaches down to pick one up and scan it over. Unfortunately, the pistols were indeed just toys, but she gets another idea. Staring down Lycan again, with her staff in one hand and the pistol in another, she smirks. Without even a word, she raises her hand in the air to call back the three coils of the Industry that had bounced harmlessly off Lycan, restoring Industry to its card form.

"Now let's try this again," Orchid announces confidently, getting the essence of a worried expression from the otherwise stoic former Kaos Captor. "Now, breathe life into this instrument of destruction, Industry Card!" Orchid commands. Tapping her wand against the Industry Card again, the coils now arc out from the card and enter the model pistol. With their transmogrifying touch, the Industry's magic turns the pale, resin plastic of the models into a gleaming cobalt, shining brightly as the metal of a real gun. Furthermore, within the six-chaimbered barrel of the revolver, Orchid notices three brightly-glowing bullets are cued up to fire upon the twitch of the trigger. She points the revolver straight at Lycan, poised to fire.

Lycan opens his mouth, revealing a slight twinkling light amidst the otherwise unforgiving darkness in his mouth. The fog of another Fade blast gathers, as Lycan prepares to cut off the cocky Orchid in her tracks. "You won't capture the Fade Card if it can take away your senses first! With the Elixir of Fire reinforcing my powers, your weak Kaos cannot protect you this time!" Lycan threatens, preparing a mighty counterattack.

Orchid aims carefully for the speck of light gleaming from inside Lycan's mouth and she squeezes off a single round with the revolver, the gun's discharge like the clap of thunder. In midair, the racing bullet turns into one of the three cables that make up the Industry's true form. Quick as a flash, Lycan seems to involuntarily swallow one of the three cables of the Industry, also dissipating Lycan's potentially fatal fog blast and seemingly causing Lycan to choke violently, his roars of pain like the wails of a wounded dragon.

Orchid then fires off a second round with the revolver. This round arcs slightly and wraps one of its ends securely around Lycan's mask. The other end races into Lycan's still hanging open mouth, grabbing its counterpart cable and dragging it out. The cable pulled from Lycan's mouth has tied up and bound the sickly vulture that is the Fade Card's true form, forcefully and literally ripped right out of Lycan's throat. Lycan attempts to shake his head from side to side to shake the cables from clinging to his mask, but the Industry hangs on tight, binding the Fade to his mask by its skinny, decayed wings. Splayed out over Lycan's mask, Fade is perfectly-positioned and helpless for a third shot.

"Reach for the sky, ya' yella-bellied varmint..." Orchid teases. With a carefully-aimed and devastating final shot, the last cable leaves the revolver, causing the device to degenerate back into a plastic resin model. This is, unfortunately for Lycan, all moot as this third shot from the Industry smashes into Fade and causes the decrepit vulture to explode into a puff of dust and black, scrawny feathers. The bullet seems to even shoot straight through Fade and cause a critical crack in Lycan's mask, nearly blowing it clean in half. As Fade disappears, so too does Lycan, disappearing in his entirety into the weakening shadows, leaving nothing behind.

With Lycan gone and Fade dispelled, the black fog covering the lights cracks like glass and shatters away, leaving the lights to shine down. Then, taking up her Kaos Key once again, Orchid turns her attention to the falling black feathers that were once the Fade Card. With a proud smile all over her face, she raises up her staff to seal away the remnants of the seventh and final Kaos Card.

"Return to your original form: KAOS CARD!" she declares pridefully. Bringing down her staff before the cluster of black feathers floating through the air, an orange card takes form at the tip of her staff. With a mystical cyclone around the card, the feathers are sucked into the card and condensed until at last the feathers are all absorbed and the card's ethereal glow dissipates. An elated Orchid even trembles slightly in anticipation, knowing that she had once and for all proved the naysayers wrong.

As the finally-sealed Fade Card flutters into her hand, contact with the card and seeing her name seared below the text seems to jar her into a deep trance. She seems to freeze still, but her mind races about out of control, struggling to comprehend the situation around her, and how she had finally come to the end of the road, but it was no use for her. Nothing seemed to matter. In fact, part of her seemed to cringe in the victory that she had sought for what seemed like an eternity.

Feeling the cold wind on her arms, she begins to shiver, and then proceeds to shiver violently, with some artificial cold about her making her feel clammy. She exhales into her palms, rubs her arms, and curls up into a ball, doing all that she can to withstand this strange, cold sensation, but to no avail, as she seems to freeze from the inside-out.

"...wh-wh-wh-what's ... what's going on...?" Sakura asks meekly. "...W-w-w-why am I-I-I-I- ...s-s-s-s-so ...so c-c-c-c-c-c... -c-cold?" As the moments pass on and she continues to shiver, her eyelids get progressively heavier and heavier, and her exhaustion seeming to increase with the cold. Despite her best efforts, her energy finally gives out and she falls into a cold slumber.

--


	10. 8 The Eve of Destruction pt I

Chapter 8: The Eve of Destruction (Part 1)

"RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH!"

The mighty roar rings out amidst the dark abyssal nether-plane as Lycan lumbers along like a wounded dog. Hanging his head, Lycan claws forward, limping through the darkness.

Lycan's mask bears a gaping, crater-like wound, right in the forehead segment, the origin point for the many cracks that permeate all across his armored faceplate. His red glowing eyes seem to blink erratically, still flinching in a pain that was all but foreign to Lycan before the incidents of a mere minute or so ago.

"No Kaos Cards…" Lycan vents furiously. "…means that my powers are gone. And without Kaos Encarnate's immediate powers… I am but a _shadow_ of a shadow. And without my Card Captor… I have none to do my bidding."

Lycan lets out another painful scream of utter contempt and rage. "Orchid, you conniving, deceptive little witch! This is no longer about the Kaos Cards, nor even about Kaos Encarnate. You, and you alone have made this war about revenge. I may have nothing… but I swear that if it takes every last fragment of my power, every last flicker of sentience in my broken soul, I will make you suffer the torment of a thousand hells for your trickery! ORRRRRCHIIIIIIID!" Lycan vows.

"Sakura-chan?" … "Sakura-chan?"

The anxious voice calls out to an unconscious Sakura who cracks open her eyelids. She finds herself standing up, with Tomoyo at her side supporting her, and her arm lays over Tomoyo's shoulder. Sakura holds up her hand to block a bright light from above, but as her eyes adjust, she finds this bright, seemingly pure light to be nothing but the mundane overhead lights in the auditorium.

Indeed, after her eyes had adjusted, this is exactly where she finds herself. However, Sakura recalls the memory of what had just happened in this auditorium, and she finds the placid auditorium around her to be quite amiss. The curtains to her right were not charred black. The auditorium floor was not blasted with ash. The exit door had not been blown in. And Sakura's classmates were all conscious and walking around, though packing up to leave for the day. Naoko, Chiharu, Rika, and Yamazaki exchange some words with Tomoyo, beyond earshot of Sakura, before donning their umbrellas and/or raincoats and leaving. Amidst the ringing in her ears, Sakura could also feel something else wrong. It's as if, in the back of her mind, she felt that something was missing. Something was gone, but as she struggles to think of what it be that's missing, she can't identify what isn't there that, she believed, should be there.

"Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura speaks up weakly, stirring her friend to attention. "Tomoyo-chan, what happened? What's wrong?"

Tomoyo sighs in relief, holding back her joyful tears at Sakura's regained consciousness. "So you're finally awake," she answers back in a flat, monotone voice, a spectral opposite to how she normally greets Sakura. Tomoyo turns her head away. "_Did she win? Did Li-kun save her? Is this nightmare finally over? Or… how much of her is left?_" she asks herself, still holding back the tears, but now tears of anguish and fear.

Sakura takes her arm off her friend's shoulder and rubs her eyes with her left hand. Leaning on her own feet now, she feels her feet clothed only in socks. As her eyes trail further downstage, she sees her discarded and unclasped rollerblades lying around arbitrarily, the only possible sign to her that a struggle ever took place. She stares blankly at her rollerblades, slowly recalling the battle between Lycan and the mysterious Orchid.

Sakura also turns her attention to her right hand, hanging limply and just now noticing a Kaos Card in her weak grasp. She holds up the card to take a look at it. The card's art was not one that she had seen before, or not for long anyway, as it depicted a decrepit vulture with a beak of bone and empty, decaying cavities for eyes. The bird on the card's art seems to perch over something, which Sakura first surmised to be a tree branch, but on further scrutinizing, the bird was actually perched on the arm of a human skeleton.

Not recoiling in horror at the morbid card art, Sakura instead looks down to find her name already seared onto the card, as per the other three Kaos Cards she had already captured. Sakura smiles at this. "I did it…" she whispers. "I captured the final Kaos Card. They'll never hurt anyone else ever again. It's finally over."

Tomoyo tries to force herself to take solace in small blessings, but her mind strays back to her conversation with Syaoran the day before.

'_Y__esterday, you asked me why there are only seven Kaos Cards in the story, but there were eight Kaos Cards in the museum... …I wouldn't worry about Kinomoto-san though if I were you. She'll be just fine.'_

"Is this what you call 'fine'?" Tomoyo mutters softly, directing her rebuttal at her memory of Syaoran and the words they had traded.

Sakura turns abruptly to face Tomoyo. "Hoee? Did you just say something, Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo shakes her head in denial, faking a smile and waving the accusation off. "No, it's nothing. Just thinking aloud," she answers. "Congratulations, Sakura-chan," she adds somberly.

Sakura pays no attention to Tomoyo's tone as she basks in the completion of defeating and sealing the Kaos Cards. "I just did the impossible…" Sakura adds with elated pride. "I'm the master of the Kaos Cards," she adds, grimmer in tone. "The Kaos Cards are all under my beck and call…" she adds further, with an even grimmer tone than before, but she then lets out a sigh as she stares off. "So …why?" she asks, turning Tomoyo's curious attention in her direction. "Why do I feel like there's something still missing?"

Tomoyo looks around the auditorium. Her classmates had already left, and nothing about the auditorium seemed out of place… except for one small detail. A detail which she hoped was the reason for Sakura's admitted feelings of incompletion. Indeed, as she looked about the auditorium, the only thing out of place was Syaoran, being nowhere in sight, as if he had completely vanished. Tomoyo trembles at the thought.

Having been hit by Fade, Tomoyo didn't keep her consciousness long enough to see what happened between Syaoran, Sakura, and Lycan. And while it was obvious that Sakura had captured the Fade Card in the end, Tomoyo remains unsure of what had happened to Syaoran. Did he stay and fight for Sakura as valiantly as he had promised? Or did he flee? Of course though, knowing Syaoran as she did, she knew he would never leave Sakura if there were still some last chance of saving her from Kaos. So, with Syaoran gone… what possible chance is there of saving Sakura?

"Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura pipes up, jarring Tomoyo out of her dreary train of thought. "Tomoyo-chan… when I had the dream when I captured the Nightmare Card, I saw Li-kun in a subway station," she claims.

'_I'm going to be filling out the paperwork for transferring out of Tomoeda Elementary today. If all goes well, I'll be out of the country in no less than a week's time.'_

Tomoyo gasps. "The subway…" she mouths inaudibly, citing a connection. 

"Li-kun was there one minute," Sakura recounts. "…but the next thing I knew, I was all alone."

(out on a rainy side-street)

Touya sits still in the mud, still fending off a bout of unconsciousness, as he sits under a cherry blossom tree at the side of the road. The very tree that he collided into, that apparently knocked him out, was providing him some comfort from the rain, but not a great deal.

The rain falls hard and fast, much more viciously than when Touya first blacked out. Touya opens his eyes to see the rain continue to pour down, and his ears picked up the torrential rainfall, the heavy winds, and the claps of thunder from above. But then, he hears something else. Like the drop of a heavy bag onto the street. And something else. A call, directed right at him.

"TOUYA!" Yukito calls out, rushing towards his friend with an umbrella in hand. Shocked when he first saw Touya knocked down on the side of the road, he had dropped his groceries into a puddle, though his true regards lie with his battered friend. Kneeling down at Touya's side, he holds the umbrella over them both.

"Touya! Are you alright? What happened to you?" Yukito asked nervously.

Touya groans deeply, still not quite fully responsive to the world around him. "Y-Yuki…" he stutters. He tries to lift his arm, but he winces sharply as a sting runs through his entire body. Far more than would be expected even from a concussion.

"Yuki, it's one of them…" Touya struggles to say.

"…A spirit?" Yukito asks, though not particularly bothered. Of course, this wasn't the first time that Touya had made contact with other spirits, much less the first time that Yukito ever heard about such a thing. But this would definitely be the closest that he's ever personally gotten to one, or at least from his human point of view.

Touya relaxes slightly and smiles up at his friend, the least agonizing nonverbal confirmation he can muster, but his smile quickly gives way to the pain. "Something is about to happen. Something big. This spirit… it won't talk to me… but I can feel its fear."

Yukito frowns. Despite believing Touya, he finds himself too in-the-dark when it comes to ghost-like things to help out, so instead he keeps quiet. Throwing Touya's arm over his shoulder, Yukito stands up and supports Touya, still while hanging onto the umbrella, but as Yukito stands up fully, Touya's arm slips out of his grip. Touya lands hard on his side, much to Yukito's flustered distress.

"TOUYA!" Yukito calls out, trying to resuscitate his friend. Yukito grabs Touya firmly by the shoulders and shakes him about like a limp ragdoll, but Touya remains motionless.

"It's…" Touya begins. "…coming…"

Touya's eyes crack open, revealing a pair of large yellow eyes with narrow, animalistic pupils. When Yukito locks gazes with Touya's transmogrified eyes, he too is stricken with a momentary out-of- body experience, as he feels himself pull away from reality, like entering into a dream. The last thing Yukito sees before blacking out is the silhouette of a pair of wings wrapping around his body.

Yue emerges from the mysterious wings wrapped around Yukito's body, and with a single, startled bound, he leaps away, getting some distance between himself and Touya, as he also undergoes a similar but more ominous transformation.

Underneath Touya, small fissures in the ground open up to reveal a magma-like glow in the shape of the Circle of Kaos. To Yue's shock and horror, a pair of orange membrane wings, like those of a bat or a dragon, protrude from Touya's back and wrap over his body. The wings pull away to reveal Damien in Touya's place. Battered and bruised, he leans against the tree on the side of the road for balance, clearly no better off physically than Touya was himself. He gulps in large breaths of air, as if he had been suffocated, or buried alive.

"YOU!" Yue exclaims. "So it wasn't enough, was it? It wasn't enough just to slander Clow's good name, or to let loose your Kaos Cards of Destruction, but that you have to draw your magic from others like a parasite-"

"You think I _enjoy _this?" Damien retorts, glaring up at Yue, despite leaning over weakly. "I've got work to do to save _your _Master's skin, and if you're not gonna' help me, then at least don't get in my way!"

"Save _my _master?" Yue asks skeptically. "Sakura… What's going to happen to her? What are you trying to save her from?" Yue bounds down to Damien and wraps his hands around Damien's bulky neck, lifting his massive albeit limp body from the ground. "ANSWER ME!" Yue bellows with untold rage, shaking Damien around. Getting no response from a mute Damien, Yue raises his right hand, allowing a sphere of glowing blue light to appear in his hand. A crystal grows out of this light, and soon more crystals begin to form, circling around the central one.

Damien smirks at Yue. "I wouldn't do that if I were you…" he threatens deviously. "I'm your Master's only hope of survival…"

Yue calls off his icy shards at Damien's ultimatum, instead casting the massive figure to the muddy ground beneath the cherry blossom trees. At contact with the moist ground, Damien's very skin sizzles like a frying pan, joined in a duet by Damien's agonizing screams. Damien manages to lift himself off the soggy ground, slowly but steadily.

"Survival…" Yue echoes back. "You keep mentioning the peril that Sakura is supposedly in, as if you're the messiah who can get her out of it. Give me a straight answer: what are you expecting? What do you have invested in Sakura's life?"

At last Damien stands to his clawed feet, but he still holds himself up by hanging onto a low-hanging branch from the cherry blossom tree he leans on. "It's not your master's life I'm invested in. It's _my_ master's Life."

Yue pauses in peculiarity. "But …how? Isn't your master …dead?" he finally asks.

"It's his card, you twit!" Damien replies with frustration. He places a clawed hand over his heart, which begins to glow an eerie orange, the same color as the Elixir of Fire and all the other associated Kaos magic thus far. As if through telekinesis, Damien draws the source of the orange glow out from his heart, pulling from his very body a card. The card has all the markings of an eighth Kaos Card, the backing, the fringes, even a scroll-like text box with words reading "The Life" at the bottom of the card. However, as Yue notices to even greater peculiarity, the card has no portrait.

Even still, Yue backs away with caution. "What Kaos Card card is that?"

Damien stares Yue down coyly, shaking his head. "You're impossible! Can't you even read the card's name? It's the Life Card! Or at least, that's what it was _supposed_ to be, before Reed screwed everything up." Easing Yue's heightened suspicions, he merges the card back into himself, wincing slightly. "It's not even a full card yet. Gin entrusted it to me, but in my growing weaknesses over the years, the Life Card and the other seven Kaos Cards slipped right out of my grasp, like sand between my fingers. When your master woke the cards up again, the Kaos Cards naturally gravitated towards their guardian. But half of them went astray."

"And I suppose that was the half that went to their other Guardian, Lycan. Am I right?" Yue deduces.

"Well…" Damien begins, cryptically taking his time. "…that's the problem. There didn't _used_ to be a Guardian of Despair before. There was just me, Gin's only Guardian. But when the Elixir of Fire was opened, it's as if Lycan appeared right out of thin air. And as he was proudly waving my master's flag, I, like a fool, fell for it. But the truth is that he turned out to have even darker intentions than I could imagine. It grew quickly apparent that Lycan had his own methods for supposedly fulfilling my master's last wishes. …It seemed as if he fooled everyone…"

Damien's strength begins to buckle as he takes to a knee, pausing amidst his explanation to tend to a body-gripping soreness. Meanwhile, Yue simply stares on complacently, completely ambivalent to Damien's suffering.

"Are you saying that this 'Lycan' is a fraud?" Yue asks. "That he was a false Guardian Beast this whole time? And you let him go unchecked with cards your master entrusted to you? No, Damien. _You're _impossible! If you had any loyalty to your master, you should've already taken your cards back from that phony by now, rather than letting Sakura get tangled up in your mistake! If Lycan isn't a Guardian Beast, what kind of foul demon is he? How much damage is he capable of?

Damien catches his breath for a moment before turning back to face Yue. "The Life Card… Even though Gin never finished creating it, he did perform all the necessary incantations to give it power. The Life Card has been sustaining me for such a long time… It's all I have left of my Master… but that's what Lycan is after…"

Yue balls up his fists. "Tell me who, or what, Lycan is! Because if you don't know, and that… that _thing _is running around with the cards that _your _master entrusted to you, then the only one responsible for shaming your master now is you!" Yue accuses powerfully.

Despite his pain, Damien cracks a fang-toothed grin. "As hopeless as you make it sound, Yue, at least there's a silver lining. Thanks to the Cherry Blossom, he's not running around with my master's cards anymore. It must've been the Fade Card's work that blinded me for such a long time… Anyway, the important thing is that now, I can see Lycan for what he is. And yes… he's more than just a Guardian Beast. _Much _more… He's a spirit, one whose great discipline and heart have been all but wiped out. His ambition and malice have come unbound. Lycan, he's-"

Damien is cut off by the sound of a heavy, monstrous stomp off to his side. Right along the road, standing in the rain, Lycan limps around weakly, closing in on Damien and Yue. His mask is cracked wide by a small impact point, a wound that has not yet healed, if it could be healed at all. Yet still, despite Lycan's disenchantment and injury, he still swaggers about as arrogant as ever, snickering with a deeply wicked cackle. "I'm… right here…" Lycan finishes.

"LYCAN!" Damien shouts back. "What do you want, now? Did you come to finish me off, or are you still driven by your obsession?"

"How insulting…" Lycan patronizes. "I am here not as a Guardian Beast, but as a simple messenger. I, Lycan, am cordially inviting you both to history in the making. I… trust that I can expect both of you to be there, though all are welcome. I would not spare anyone, human, card, or Guardian, to the moment where their new undisputed master ascends and becomes Kaos Encarnate."

"Kaos Encarnate?" Yue asks Damien.

Damien doesn't answer Yue, but he shakes his head at Lycan. "You're mad… You think the soul of a mere _human_ can harness the full powers of Kaos?"

"So, you've finally figured it out," Lycan notices with a sarcastic congratulatory tone. "You've figured out that I'm indeed the last remnants of your precious Kaos Gin. Ah, the wondrous betrayal. It hurts, doesn't it?" Lycan cackles, mocking Damien.

Damien grits his jagged, rotting teeth. "You're not my master. My master was someone I could be proud of. My master had a kind heart. A lot like-"

"Like Kinomoto Sakura?" Lycan interrupts. "You fools… completely unaware of the Kaos _she_ harbors… Then again, when life is as fleeting for you pathetic creatures as it is, I suppose optimism is as good a false hope as any." Lycan's arrogant gloating is cut short by a pattering of crystalline ice across his mask, though this only manages to annoy him. Lycan then turns his attention to the source of the irritation.

Yue prepares for a second wave of ice cold pelting to follow the first, focusing on Lycan with a laser-like intensity. "Don't you _dare _lay a hand on Sakura, you fiend!"

Lycan tilts his head curiously. "Oh? And why exactly do you still care? You think your master has any more humanity remaining than I do? Do you still harbor the illusions of her good intentions? Do you deny her mighty Kaos? A Kaos that I will soon drain from her frail, _broken_ body as her cacophonous screams of agony ring through my soul like a sweet melody-"

"I tested her myself!" Yue interrupts. "Unlike you, she's stronger than this Kaos. She's _nothing_ like you…"

"What an overblown and tainted analogy, Yue!" Lycan replies. "How can you say that she and I are too far different? When you judged her, she was weak, as was I for a time. But I discarded my weakness. And now that all the Kaos Cards have been captured, she has abandoned her weaknesses as well. Only when _this_ Kinomoto Sakura has been judged can you truly understand what we have in common. Or, you can observe… as _I _judge her. Though mark my words, this time she will fail the test before her. And, unlike in your trial, no interlopers will save her."

Yue's concentration breaks for a split second.

Lycan chuckles briefly, sensing a struck nerve. "It must eat away at you that Kinomoto Sakura passed your Final Judgment by cheating. She wasn't fit for the task, and you _know_ it. And yet, she stole the cards your realmaster entrusted to you. Now, you're forced to pander to a pathetic little girl and _pretend _like she actually has claim to your master's legacy. Granted, your master Reed was a senile fool, you probably shouldn't be so hard on Damien. After all, considering the circumstances of how you lost jurisdiction of Reed's cards, you'd be _quite_ the hypocrite to-"

Yue grits his teeth. "That has _nothing_ to do with this! Sakura was destined to be the Card Captor. It was out of my hands," he insists, despite a slightly bitter tone betraying his determination.

"Destiny is fickle," Lycan replies. "No matter. Very soon, a power beyond your feeble minds will become mine."

"I've heard enough-" Yue mutters as he prepares for another icy fusillade, but he is cut off by a massive flaming torrent shooting out from behind and enveloping Lycan. Even in the rain the flames burn hot with rage, but the rain mercifully extinguishes all the stray embers that land on the cherry blossom trees. Turning back, Yue sees his fellow guardian, Keroberos, approaching from the air with a mighty and determined ferocity. As Lycan's shady black form emerges from the flames virtually unscathed but massively irritated, he turns his attention skyward, looking Keroberos in the eye, only for the opposite beast to spit off more streams of magical fire in his direction.

Keroberos approaches quickly and aims his flaming breath attacks at Lycan's feet, attempting to drive the beast off, but not causing even a flinch. Instead, Lycan holds his ground and responds with his typical stoic resolve. Keroberos lands swiftly and gracefully at Yue's side.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Lycan taunts Keroberos. "My atrocities must've been vile indeed, if they were important enough for you to wake up from your naptime to take care of them. Or, knowing you, more likely I was interrupting your snack time."

"Hey, give that a rest! I'm not a kid anymore!" Keroberos spits back.

Lycan squints back at Keroberos with his soul-piercing red glare. "Maybe not, but you're still an immature brat of a Guardian Beast. But don't worry. I'll use small words so you can keep up…" Lycan panders, his deep cackles mocking Keroberos, eliciting a feral, animalistic snarl from the supposedly noble Guardian Beast.

"Hey! KNOCK IT OFF!" Damien shouts, getting both Keroberos's and Yue's attention. "Look you two, they're just head games. He's just trying to get to you. Don't give that bully the dignity of your suffering!"

"Hmph! Well _you're _no fun at all, Damien…" Lycan pouts. "And here I thought we were a _team_…" he continues in a pitiful tone.

Damien ignores Lycan's scathing implications, keeping focused with a steely determination. "Save your bull for someone who cares. What are you up to? And what does the Cherry Blossom have to do with it?"

Lycan turns his head off to the side sharply before turning around altogether. He waves his twin spiky tails back and forth as he paces away briskly. "Well, if you truly must know... Come. Follow me, if you can. Come and witness my rise to highest power. It will save me the trouble of having to track you down and exterminate you." Lycan pauses and turns his head, looking right back at all three of the Guardians. "I _especially _expect you to be there, Damien. Then again, I know you'd be there if it was the last thing you ever did …"

"You know it," Damien answers. "I'm coming for you."

Keroberos holds his stance courageously. "I'll give everything I have to protect Sakura from you. And for your own sake, don't make the mistake of assuming I'm the same stupid Kero-chan today that I was back then."

Lycan sneers at Keroberos before turning his head back and trotting off slowly. "Of course, Keroberos. I would expect no less from any Guardian Beast. Though likewise, don't _you_ make the mistake of assuming I'm the same weak Gin Clow today that _I _was back then."

Lycan bounds powerfully upwards. At the apex of Lycan's jump, a flash of lightning illuminates the vast sky, casting a shadow of the cherry blossom trees onto the road. Within the span of the brief flash, Lycan dives into these shadows like a dolphin into water, even with Keroberos in hot pursuit. Just losing Lycan in the shadows, Keroberos pounces down and lands hard on the concrete, failing to catch Lycan before he completely disappears. "You slippery little snake!" Keroberos calls out in disgust of Lycan's seeming cowardice. He sniffs through the air with a keen concentration for magical energies, but Yue breaks his focus.

"Keroberos!" Yue calls over at Kero, who had bounded several meters away in his failed pursuit of Lycan.

Keroberos turns back to Yue, but only to see him standing around, wading in the cold puddles of rainwater at his feet, absolutely beside himself.

Yue balls up his fist tightly. "Keroberos, tell me… is it true? Was that really… _really _Clow's brother? 

Damien scoffs sharply in answer to Yue's question. "Wake up and smell the ash!" Damien snaps, turning both Yue's and Keroberos's attentions to him.

Keroberos snarls back at Damien. "Hey, cut him some slack! How could he expect to remember what he never even experienced?"

Damien rolls his eyes. "Yeah, and the all-powerful Clow Reed couldn't be bothered to fill his pet in on all the deep dark secrets of his family, could he? That his brother became Lycan? That Gin's blood is on Reed's own hands?"

"Clow warned Gin on multiple occasions. He had no excuse for ignorance of the consequences of his own actions!"

"Gin was onto something huge! But Reed stuck his nose into something he _knew_ was dangerous ground. And now my master is gone, replaced by that hollow, murderous fraud of a Guardian, Lycan. And yet, in spite of it all, you have nothing better to do after seeing me for the first time in two centuries than to debate the same semantics you've always held. You're useless! It's no wonder you couldn't protect your _new_ master, either."

"Hey, keep it above the belt! Besides, Sakura can take care of herself."

"Thanks to the Little Wolf bailing her out, she can. But it looks like even _he_ screwed up this time. Geez, what is it with Reed's lineage?"

"Needing help from others isn't a sign of being weak. It's a sign of being _human_! Something neither you nor your master would know anything about! And just because I don't care much for the kozo personally, it doesn't mean I don't respect his ability, or his determination. He's not done just yet…"

Yue stands still, continuing to recoil slowly from the shock as Damien and Keroberos continue bickering in a distant background, though neither Damien nor Keroberos pay any attention to Yue at this point.

Damien balls up a massive, reptilian fist. "But the Cherry Blossom _is_ done. How can you fools call yourselves her Guardians? The Little Wolf continues to embarrass you both. Even now, he's trying to take matters into his own hands to defeat Kaos… and all for the sake of love. I swear that the both of you have some serious audacity to be arguing at a time like this. Now the Little Wolf is off to his death. How much blood does it take to open your eyes?"

Keroberos grits his teeth quietly, Damien's words causing grievous wounds to his pride. "…And what would _you_ suggest? You claim to be Sakura's savior, that you're the only one who can help her now. What's _your_ plan, then?"

Damien relaxes his clenched fists. "Well, now that you'll actually hear me out, it's actually quite simple. Lycan is after me…" he begins, squinting deviously. "…so that's exactly what he'll get…"

Keroberos scoffs audibly. "Pschh! You call _that _a plan? Just going after Lycan all gung-ho, hoping he can't kill us all if we just gang up on him?"

Damien folds his arms and stares off into space. "Of course, if you'd just like to keep getting knocked into rooftops, we could just go with _your _plan," he replies sarcastically.

Keroberos growls loudly. "I'm getting really fed up with your attitude, pretty-boy…"

"Stop…" Yue intervenes softly, like waking up from a meditative contemplation. He swallows hard on his pride as he turns to face Damien. "We're out of leeway here. If we fail again, Sakura is as good as dead. Damien… if you have a plan… then as Sakura's Guardians, we have no choice but to go along with it."

Instead of grinning pridefully, Damien stands rather sullen and plain, caught completely off-guard by Yue's sudden acceptance. This time, Damien swallows his own pride. "Thank you. Both of you. Y'know, if we can work cohesively, maybe, just maybe there's still hope." Damien stares up into the sky, beside himself. "…for all of us."

(a dark and dank subway)

The cold wind rushes through the dank, almost derelict-looking underground subway station, causing Syaoran to shiver stiffly, as he sits alone on a bench, sitting below a route map hanging above him on the wall. His jean jacket provides him with a little warmth, but not much.

Syaoran looks around the vacant station, ensuring that no one was around. Finding not another soul in the vicinity, he pulls a stack of Clow Cards out from a pocket in his jean jacket. Fanning them out, the eye of his magic allows him to spot a shady, dark aura covering the cards. Fade had been sealed, true, but it was too late for the Clow Cards. Lycan, or Kaos Gin, or whoever he was, was right. All the cards had been cut off from Sakura's magic, either by Fade, or by Sakura's denial of the responsibility of the Clow Cards. Or maybe a combination of both those factors was to blame. At any rate, the cards were now reduced to drawing their magic not from their master, but their creator, Clow Reed, a creator who passed away a long time ago. It would be only a matter of time before the Clow Cards' sustenance runs completely dry, and then…

Syaoran had already thought about this, apparently giving it not a small amount of consideration. He knew in the back of his mind that this worst-case scenario could come about, and that the only way to preserve the Clow Cards was to take them to the closest possible magic to Clow's. And now, as he sits in the breezy subway station, Syaoran now ponders in his mind how he would bring the Clow Cards to his mother, as well as the explanation he would give for his failure.

"Mother, I brought back the Clow Cards. They'll be safe here."

"I cannot commend you for your failure, son. But… nonetheless, I am glad that you are alright. You are your father's lone heir… and the future of our clan."

"I am deeply sorry."

"But what of the Clow Cards' Master? After the Final Judgment, the Clow Cards and their Guardians assigned to a new Master. Well? What of her?"

"_I failed her._"

Syaoran trembles at the thought of his mother asking about Sakura. His stomach churns as he assumes the full guilt and shame for failing to collect more Kaos Cards than Sakura had, and that Kaos Sakura, no… Orchid had triumphed, becoming the master of the Kaos Cards. There was nothing he could do, he reasoned, trying vainly to justify, even excuse his defeat.

He returns his gaze to the afflicted Clow Cards, as one of the Cards levitates out of the stack on its own. As the Circle of Clow appears below Syaoran's feet, the Mirror releases herself from the bindings of her card. The card's energies assume the form of a tall, circular mirror, with Mirror's true form on the other side of the reflection, like a glass barrier. The green-haired girl doesn't even try to cross the threshold of the glass, but instead directs a teary glare at Syaoran. Mirror places her hands against the barrier between her and Syaoran, pressing against it and realizing herself to be trapped on the inside of the reflection, unable to escape.

"_Why did you lose? Why did you fail?_" Mirror asks Syaoran telepathically, but faintly still.

Syaoran doesn't even dignify Mirror with eye contact, choosing instead to wallow around. "Save your strength, Mirror. You'll be in Hong Kong by tonight. There, the Li Clan will be able to provide you and the other Clow Cards with some other magical sustenance," Syaoran explains, revealing his intention for Mirror and the other Clow Cards.

Mirror slams her petite fists against the glass wall in protest. "_We don't want another magical sustenance! We want Sakura-sama!_" she insists. Crying helplessly, she kneels down, but Syaoran remains oblivious. "_We trusted you. We were counting on you. You promised us that you would take care of Sakura-sama…_"

Syaoran turns away from Mirror. He holds a heavy hand over his heart before gripping a tight fist, as if to seize at a searing pain. "Maybe someday, I'll forgive myself for this," he mutters. "Maybe someday, you all will, too."

"_NEVER!_" Mirror raises her telepathic voice. "_The Clow Cards will NEVER forgive you for this!_" she adds, but Syaoran remains turned away, deafened to Mirror's thoughts and words. "_We'll never-_"

Syaoran snaps back to his senses again at hearing Mirror's tearful rant abruptly cut off. He glances over his shoulder briefly, but turns around in shock.

Mirror stands up, her forehead and hands leaning up against the barrier, as a deep, rippling crack runs down the surface of the Mirror card. Mirror's jaw hangs in shock as tears of pain run down her face. The vicious crack goes deeper and wider until, with an ear-shattering scream, the Mirror shatters. Not even just the surface of the mirror, but even the frame itself breaks away like glass. As Mirror ruptures away, the shards of the Mirror Card mysteriously pool at Syaoran's feet, reforming into a Clow Card, but more importantly, Syaoran catches a glimpse of Mirror's attacker.

Three massive silver talons reach forward out of a foggy, shady cloud. From within the amorphous shade, two bright red burning eyes shoot a hateful glare at Syaoran. However, Syaoran needed no reminder. The identity of Mirror's assailant was all too clear to him.

"Persistent runts… How much does it take to kill those pathetic misfits that Reed called his Clow Cards?" Lycan says in his unmistakably gruff and thunderous voice. Lycan's form materializes out of the shady cloud, landing down one mighty footfall before another. At last, his bony, nearly-shattered mask protrudes from the cloud, while the fog itself rolls away from Lycan's massive body, slowly spreading a layer of thin, dark haze over the entire subway floor.

Syaoran steadily reaches down to pick up the Mirror Card, though his eyes don't budge from Lycan. "What are _you _doing here? You got what you wanted already. You have no business with me anymore," Syaoran says coldly to Lycan.

"What I _want_?" Lycan booms. "Hmph, you cannot _fathom _what I want! No, Xiaolang, you have what I _need_…"

"What I have…" Syaoran begins. "What _do _I have? You've taken so much from me. What could I _possibly_ have to lose now?" he yells. He raises his right forearm as the Circle of Kaos appears below his feet, its powerful ethereal glow cutting right through the haze on the ground. The Inferno Crossbow activates, folding out and arming itself with a glowing orange arrow. Syaoran then points this arrow right at Lycan's cracked mask. "All I have left to give you... is your oblivion!" he finishes.

Lycan fury builds up into an ominous chuckle as he rears up to pounce. "My Oblivion, you say? …You …you poor, sorry fool! You know not of what you speak!"

Syaoran remains of steady resolve, despite Lycan's fury and madness. "You may be my ancestor, Gin, but your spirit doesn't belong to this world anymore. So leave, before I have to put you down like the dog you are."

Lycan cackles in amusement as he dives into the fog-covered ground and submerges himself quickly beneath the murky shadows, too quick for Syaoran to fire off a shot at Lycan's crumbling mask. As Lycan's form disappears, the monstrous cackles echo throughout the cavernous subway station.

Losing track of Lycan's location, Syaoran scans the subway station for potential ambushes as he steadily and calmly holds his ground. Aiming his crossbow steadily and holstering Mirror and the other Clow Cards away in a pocket inside his jacket, Syaoran begins to slowly take a few steps forward at an extremely slow and tedious rate.

"_Yes… I've waited too long to put this child out of his misery. And once I'm done with Xiaolang, Kinomoto Sakura is next. After that, it'll be down to just you and me. Yes… I know you can hear me. You always do. Be ready to meet your end of the deal…_"

A shadow springs quickly across the wall behind Syaoran, which he barely catches out the corner of his eye. Within the instant, Syaoran snaps around and fires his Inferno Crossbow at the wall. Hitting a stationary map and shattering the glass covering before it, the entire map display is instantaneously incinerated in a flash of bright embers and a whoosh of a quick burn, leaving only the charred, shattered glass behind. Syaoran's sense catches up with his reflexes and he lowers his crossbow to confirm his miss-by-a-mile. Syaoran shuts out Lycan's taunting sadistic laughter as he calmly regenerates the arrow for the Inferno Crossbow.

Turning around, Syaoran re-examines the catacomb-like subway station. Seeing another shadowy blur race quickly down the wall into the opposite end of the subway tunnel, Syaoran discharges another arrow. The bright glow illuminates the air like a flare as it hurtles down range, right down the opposite subway tunnel, before finally exploding. The resultant flash-flicker from the explosion reveals nothing, as Lycan's echoing voice continues to mock Syaoran.

Syaoran glances up at the ceiling and around at the walls, seeing thousands of shadowy specters shoot in all different directions in an indiscernible jumble. His breathing quickens as his magical senses reveal to him threats coming from all sides, rendering his magical sense as useless as the rest of his senses. Seeing a nearby support column, Syaoran launches another bolt into a cluster of shadowy specters crawling around on the column's surface. The glowing arrow impacts the column and erupts with an ethereal explosion of magical energy, repelling away the specters on the wall, but without harming the column. Syaoran then somersaults over to the column and leans his back up against it, taking a moment to catch his breath and magically reload the Inferno Crossbow for yet another blast. Syaoran finds himself looking in towards the center of the cavernous room, with the stairwell leading out of the subway a good distance away from him, with the subway tunnel directly behind him. For a brief moment, Syaoran considers fleeing the subway for the surface, but his resolve steadies him. Who else could possibly stop Lycan? Realizing this, Syaoran dismisses his fear.

Syaoran closes his eyes and takes in a number of deep breaths, steadying his out-of-control pulse and trusting the eyes of his magic to see what his own two eyes can't. He shuts out every other sense but that of his magic. However, even with his magical senses focused to a laser-like precision, he feels an unsettling aura all around him, leaving him nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Finding no other recourse, Syaoran reaches into one of his inner coat pockets with his left hand and slowly pulls out a crumpled up ofuda, which he palms in his right hand. Steadying his trembling right arm, he wraps his left hand around his right wrist as tight as he can while generating another bright orange arrow.

Lycan resumes his taunting, his voice emanating from the very walls themselves as he speaks. "_Yes, Xiaolang… run. Run away. As far as you can… as fast as you can… flee before my awesome might… Don't worry about Kinomoto Sakura. I will do what you could not. I will relieve her of that pesky Kaos… once and for all…_"

Syaoran tenses up and grits his teeth at Lycan's threat. He quickly turns around the column and fires a bolt from the Inferno Crossbow, quickly reloading, and firing another bolt, into the darkened ceiling. But instead of these arrows exploding violently, instead the shadows around the wall merely wrap over and consume the arrows, causing them to fizzle away and vanish. Syaoran freezes up at the implacable horror all around him. He reloads the Inferno Crossbow and aims carefully all around the subway station. But to Syaoran's chagrin, no place is a safe place to hide from Lycan.

"_ON YOUR KNEES!_" Lycan bellows suddenly, causing Syaoran to turn his entire posture around rapidly, but he is blind-sighted when Lycan's tail emerges from the shadows and whips him across the back, throwing him forward onto his hands and knees. A deeply-cut slice opens up across the back of Syaoran's jacket, cutting even through his shirt and slashing the skin on his back with a long gash. Trickles of blood begin to seep down Syaoran's back from this wound, but Syaoran's willpower dulls him to the searing pain.

"_Don't bother standing, Xiaolang,_" Lycan encourages. "_What better way to greet our guest of honor than on your hands and knees?_"

Syaoran slowly lifts his head. "Wh… What… 'guest of honor'?" Syaoran struggles through his pain to ask.

As if answering Syaoran's very question, a door frame materializes off to the side, much to Syaoran's confusion.

(behind the stage)

A blank, expressionless Sakura paces back behind the stage curtain, with Tomoyo following quickly behind.

"Sakura-chan, you have to get to the subway!" Tomoyo urges, grabbing Sakura by the shoulder.

Sakura glances back coldly at Tomoyo and gently pushes her hand away. "I know," she responds dryly. She then paces towards the door to the prop room behind the stage, where she places her hand on the door and pauses for a moment.

Tomoyo quickly whips out her cell phone from her duffel bag and hits a speed dial button. "Sakura-chan, we have to get there fast, or Li-kun will leave. I'll call up my bodyguards and-"

"My way is faster," Sakura responds, cutting off her friend. She turns the knob and pulls open the door, allowing a layer of black fog to spill out from the floor of the other side of the door to the backstage floor.

All of a sudden, Sakura throws the door open wide. Though Tomoyo expects to see a prop room or something more theatrical on the other side, instead the doorway leads into a dark, dank subway. Shadows scurry across the walls like locusts, and a deep echoing cackle can be faintly heard from the other side. Moreover, a faint, husky breathing can be heard from the other side, coming straight from Syaoran. Keeled over, he struggles to even stand to one foot.

Tomoyo holds her breath as she stares at Syaoran in shock, but with her cell phone continuing to ring, Sakura paces through the portal and yanks the door shut behind her. Tomoyo quickly rushes up behind Sakura, but not before the door slams shut. Tomoyo quickly throws the door back open again, but now sees a handful of stacked boxes and dusty props in a small closet, much more reminiscent of the prop closet she was expecting behind the door at first.

"_Daidouji-sama? Daidoui-sama? Hello? Are you there?_" a woman's voice calls out at Tomoyo from her cell phone, snapping Tomoyo out of her shock and bewilderment. Catching on, Tomoyo raises her cell phone to the side of her head.

"Yes, this is Daidouji Tomoyo speaking," Tomoyo responds frantically, dashing out from behind the curtains and heading straight for the emergency exit. "I need pickup at Tomoeda Elementary, to head for the nearest subway station. It's an emergency. Code Red."

"_Copy that, Code Red. Requisitioning a bodyguard squad to arrive for pickup at_-"

"No… the bodyguards won't be necessary. Just the fastest driver you have," Tomoyo interrupts. She pushes in the emergency exit door, triggering the fire alarm and allowing Tomoyo to observe the tempest that had brewed outside.

"…_Request confirmation on the auxiliary bodyguard requisition, Daidouji-sama? As a reminder of policy, Code Red is for immediate tactical response to terrorist-level threats and therefore requires mandatory deployment of no less than four heavily-armed_-"

"Yes, you heard correct, do _not_ deploy additional bodyguards. Just worry about getting here as fast as you can!" Tomoyo responds urgently. "…All your guns and all your hate willbe useless…" she adds in a somber whisper.

"_... …Negative on that cancellation. Bodyguard requisition can only be cancelled by an on-site sergeant or higher-ranking officer to confirm an all-clear._"

Tomoyo shuts her eyes and places her hand over the receiver in frustration. "Stupid bureaucrats," she mutters. "Look, just get the van out here as quickly as possible! This is urgent!"

"…_Copy that. Bodyguard requisition has been successfully canceled. Briefings have been issued. Directions have been uploaded and confirmed by the driver. The van is leaving the premises now. ETA: ten minutes._"

Tomoyo stares up at the ominous thunderclouds. "Make it five." Tomoyo terminates the call before the receiver could even respond, and she dashes straight out into the rain, stopping only long enough to grab an umbrella.

(outside a board room)

Sonomi stands in a brightly-lit corridor, like that of an office building, next to a tall, long-haired woman wearing a clean-cut black suit and dark sunglasses, while Sonomi herself is dressed in an elegant business suit of her own. Both stand outside a nearly closed set of double doors, likely some kind of meeting room, which it seemed that Sonomi was called urgently out of for some reason. The agent woman holds up a bland, gray cell phone to Sonomi. She also hands Sonomi a pair of headphones, which Sonomi plugs into the cell phone.

"All right…" Sonomi gulps down. "…Play it…"

The agent presses a green button on the upper left corner of the cell phone's keypad, beginning a playing of an earlier call. At first, all Sonomi hears is a normal enough background static, until another agent's voice appears.

"_Daidouji-sama? Daidouji-sama? Hello? Are you there?_"

"_Yes, this is Daidouji Tomoyo speaking. I need pick up at Tomoeda Elementary, to head for the nearest subway station. It's an emergency. Code Red._"

"_Copy that, Code Red. Requisitioning a bodyguard squad to arrive for pickup at_-"

"_No… the bodyguards won't be necessary. Just the fastest driver you have,_"

"…_Request confirmation on the auxiliary bodyguard requisition, Daidouji-sama? As a reminder of policy, Code Red is for immediate tactical response to terrorist-level threats and therefore requires mandatory deployment of no less than four heavily-armed_-"

"_Yes, you heard correct, do not deploy additional bodyguards. Just worry about getting here as fast as you can! …All your guns and all your hate will be useless…_"

"_... …Negative on that cancellation. Bodyguard requisition can only be cancelled by an on-site sergeant or higher-ranking officer to confirm an all-clear._"

"…_Look, just get the van out here as quickly as possible! This is urgent!_"

"… … …_Copy that. Bodyguard requisition has been successfully canceled. Briefings have been issued. Directions have been uploaded and confirmed by the driver. The van is leaving the premises now, ETA ten minutes._"

"…_Make it five…-_"

"_Hello? Daidouji-sama? Daidouji-sama?_-"

The agent presses a red button on the cell phone's keypad, located slightly below the green button, thus stopping the playback. Meanwhile, Sonomi's face is stuck in a state of shock.

"Did you send out the bodyguards?" Sonomi asks calmly, despite not being calm at all herself.

The agent pushes her glasses up her nose. "With such urgencies, we were unable to requisition the compulsory four bodyguards before sending the van off. I _know_ it was a breach of protocol, and I am deeply apologetic…" Sensing the rising distress in her boss, the bodyguard pauses for a moment before taking off her glasses to stare Sonomi straight in the eye. "I'm a single mother myself…" the bodyguard adds, trying with all her willpower to contain her personal reservations regarding the sheer gravity of the situation. "I made what I thought was the best call at the time. With my rank, _I_ gave the authority for the transport to leave without sufficient security precautions. If anything happens, I will take full professional and personal responsibility."

Sonomi gives the agent a deathly serious stare as she rips off the headphones and shoves the cell phone at the agent. "You had better hope you made the right call. My little angel…" Sonomi begins to choke up, her mind flooded with worst case scenarios. She shakes her head to dispel these pessimistic thoughts. "She's all I have left…"

(the subway)

Syaoran struggles to a standing base as he turns to face Sakura, who had just emerged from a mysteriously out-of-place door. Syaoran struggles to lift an arm out to reach towards Sakura, but he succumbs to the searing pain of the wound across his back, collapsing and landing right on his stomach. As he passes out, the arrow he had reloaded into the Inferno Crossbow fizzles away.

Sakura stares on at Syaoran with mixed emotions, but is completely oblivious to her ominous surroundings. Instead of balking in fear at the horrific, ethereal presence all about her, she devotes the entirety of her attentions to Syaoran. "Li-kun?" she asks innocently, tilting her head curiously. "Li-kun? Are you alright? Are you not feeling well? Did you get hurt?"

Despite Sakura's pleas, Syaoran's only response is laying face-to-concrete, lifeless and comatose on the ground.

As Sakura begins to comprehend the reality around her, her eyes begin welling up with tears of sadness and fright as Syaoran refuses to respond to her pleas for consciousness. She then turns her attention to the subway around her. Turning around, the portal-like door that had brought her to the subway station had vanished just as easily as it had appeared. It is at this point that she also begins to sense a horrific, mighty magic presence all around her. Seeing the spectral shadows coarse across the walls, ceiling, and pretty much any solid surface, she begins to shiver in terror.

"_Welcome, Kinomoto Sakura, I've been… expecting you…_" a menacing voice calls out. "_Or, should I say… Orchid?_"

Sakura's eyes gloss over for a split second, causing her whole body to freeze over. "I…" she tries to speak. Her eyes dart around frantically as she examines the area around her. A directory on a wall with the map burnt out. The gusting winds flowing quickly through the tunnel. The mysterious door that brought her to this destination in the first place. "I… remember this place…" she mutters.

"_As well you should,_" Lycan answers. A large mass of shadows gather on the floor, right before Lycan begins to float up through the ground, almost majestically. His massive form appears even larger than before, though the vicious cracks in Lycan's mask remain, even getting worse, like even the slightest jostle would shatter it. "This place… you remember it?" Lycan begins nostalgically. "This is the very location that the Nightmare Card transported you to. This is where I chose you to be the Card Captor of Kaos. This is the place where I first witnessed your powers with the Elixir of Fire. And it will soon be the last place where _anyone _witnesses you _alive_."

Sakura's eyes shoot open, an epiphany nearly bowling her over in shock, at the potential repercussions. "Wait!" she interrupts. "…I-i-if… if you _first _saw me when I was fighting against the Nightmare Card… then the voice that selected me as the Card Captor of Kaos… Are you saying that… that _wasn't _you who selected me?" she asks reluctantly, unsure of whether or not she'll get the truth, much less want it.

Lycan squints, his burning red eyes eerily locking onto Sakura, as if to confirm her unspoken suspicions. "Let's just say that there are some things in this world that transcend even Kaos… But I wouldn't be concerned about those things if I were you. All that you should worry about right now…" Lycan readies himself for a vicious pounce before launching himself at Sakura. "…IS ME!" Lycan bellows.

As Lycan lunges straight after Sakura, she has no choice but to hold her ground, as she has neither the time nor the space to dodge. Shivering skittishly, Sakura closes her eyes and braces for a mighty impact, but is shocked to feel a burning hot wind blaze right through her, like a fire. Turning her head behind her, Sakura just barely catches a glimpse of Lycan's tails sinking into the shadowy ground, with Lycan's echoing snickering taunting her.

Sakura turns back to face Syaoran again. Despite that the only friendly face in the entire station was planted against the concrete, Sakura frantically rushes to Syaoran's side and kneels down. She tries to lift Syaoran up, which stirs him to consciousness. "Li-kun! Li-kun, please wake up!" Sakura calls hopelessly, as Syaoran's face had already grown deathly pale.

Syaoran's eyelids twitch frantically before opening, though he still winces in the pain. Though it even strains his physical endurance, hearing Sakura's voice call to him gives Syaoran the impetus to open his eyes. Gritting through the pain, Syaoran props himself up on his arms and leans up. He manages to lock eyes with Sakura, giving him reason to smile. However, Sakura appears devastated at seeing Syaoran so battered and exhausted. She is only comforted when Syaoran manages to reach up with his right hand and place it on her shoulder, if nothing else for the physical support.

"Sakura…" Syaoran chokes out in a low whisper, which is all that he can manage before letting out a husky, dry cough.

Sakura shakes her head. "No, Li-kun, please hang on. I-I-I'll go get help-"

"No," Syaoran whispers. "There's… no time…" He reaches into his jacket with a pale, trembling hand and pulls out his three Kaos Cards, all while smiling endearingly at Sakura.

Sakura notices Syaoran pulling out his Kaos Cards, and the implications cause Sakura to shake her head even more emphatically. "No! Li-kun, you'll be alright! I'll get you outta' here, and-and-and-"

"I…" Syaoran begins. "I… can't… hold Lycan… back…" he continues softly, raising his three Kaos Cards up for Sakura to take. "Here… You're… their master now… Please… use these cards… to survive-" Syaoran begs meekly, wincing in pain. He desperately sucks in precious gasps of air so that he can retain consciousness.

Sakura's eyes tremble with fear and uncertainty. She pushes back the Kaos Cards to Syaoran. "No, I can't take them, they're yours! Li-kun, you'll be alright. We'll get through this somehow. I _won't _let it end like this!"

Syaoran keeps on smiling. "I know you won't…" he replies. "You're a great Card Captor. I know… that if I leave my Kaos Cards to you… that you'll be able to end this nightmare once and for all. Please… finish it…" Syaoran's eyes close slowly as he falls limp. The Kaos Cards in his hand slip right out of his grip and flutter down, landing on the ground with a light yet thunderous tap against the concrete floor.

Sakura's hands and eyes stop trembling. "Li-kun?" Sakura calls helplessly, knowing she won't get an answer. "Li-kun, are you alright?" She grabs hold of his cold right hand, still on her shoulder, when she freezes up, noticing how icy and clammy Syaoran's hand had become. "Li-kun? Li-kun?"

"_Xiaolang can't hear you from where he is now…_" Lycan's booming voice cuts in. As if nothing were the matter at all, Lycan simply materializes and strolls casually towards Sakura, without even as much as one of his usual cackling swaggers.

Sakura slowly and silently turns her head in Lycan's direction as she continues to hang onto Syaoran's body. Her breathing gets quicker and quicker as her many swirling emotions struggle against one another to emerge.

Lycan crouches down low to look Sakura right in the eye. "Well? Isn't this what you wanted? Weren't you the one who said that Xiaolang is just your means to take the Kaos Cards from me? And that he truly made no difference to you, alive or dead? Now Xiaolang has been disposed of, and his Kaos Cards are yours for the taking. Bravo. Congratulations. Well played, Orchid. I couldn't have done it better myself…" Lycan taunts, deliberately aggravating Sakura even further.

Sakura hyperventilates with anger and sadness. "I'll never… ever… ever forgive you…" she mutters. "…because he's more than just a shounen. To me, he's… he's…" she stutters, finally hugging Syaoran's body tenderly close.

Lycan can only just barely hear a small, soft squeak of a voice. "Hm?"

"…you'll pay…" Orchid whispers softly. She sets Syaoran's body down softly and reverently on the ground.

Lycan sneers with sinister interest. "Louder…" he eggs on.

"You'll pay."

"Louder!"

"You'll pay!"

"With _conviction_!"

"_YOU'LL PAAAAAY!_" Orchid shrieks, locking eyes with Lycan in a challenge of death-glares.

"That'smore like it!" Lycan replies enthusiastically. "Now, this Final Judgment can truly begin!" Lycan rears up for a vicious pounce.

"Good! Because when I'm done with you, there won't be enough of you left to fill a bird-skull-shaped bottle!" Orchid threatens back, quickly whipping the lanyard with the star key on it out from under her blouse. She holds it up, preparing for her incantation. "Key hiding the Powers of the Inferno, show your true form before me. I, Kaos Sakura, command you under our contract: Release!"

The star key is consumed by a frigid blue flame from Orchid's palm. As the flame burns through the star key, a massive icy wind blows through the entire subway station. The ferocity of the wind forces even Lycan to lower his posture, though Orchid stands undaunted, impervious.

"_I've waited too long for this one encounter. Everything I've planned, everything I've schemed to achieve… shall be met here. And now, all that stands in between me and the fulfillment of my destiny is you. So prepare yourself…_" Orchid and Lycan both contemplate in silent thought with immaculate synchronicity.

"…_Kinomoto Sakura!_"

"…_Lycan!_"

(outside Tomoeda Elementary) 

Tomoyo stands right at the gates in front of Tomoeda Elementary, barely shielded from the pounding rain by her measly umbrella. She shivers violently as she peeks around the corners, waiting rather impatiently. Tiptoeing frantically to keep herself warm, she rolls up her sleeve and checks the time on her wristwatch.

"_It's been fifteen minutes…_" she thinks to herself. "Sakura-chan, Li-kun, please hang on," she pleads.

Out the corner of her eyes, she sees a pair of headlights downrange, shining through the thick fog. She eagerly focuses on these headlights, unconcerned with the storm, until it turns out to be just another car passing by, not what she was expecting. At making this discovery, Tomoyo slouches, but as the car whizzes past, it drives through a deep puddle, splashing Tomoyo up to her waist with freezing, dirty rainwater. To make matters worse, the breeze from the quick passing of the car also blows powerfully, inverting Tomoyo's umbrella.

Tomoyo shivers violently as she jogs in place, frantically trying to keep warm. She couldn't go back inside though. She had to be visible for when her bodyguard would drive by and pick her up. How else could she get to the subway station in time?

Tomoyo's ears perk up as she hears the sound of loud horn-honking and tires screeching off in the distance, but she holds back her hopefulness, as it wouldn't be the first false alarm she's gotten. However, she can't help but stare downrange with a modicum of optimism.

A heavy pair of headlights slashes through the fog from even a great distance. As the van comes closer, its large silhouette becomes more and more defined. Tomoyo squints as the source of the bright headlights come closer and closer. To her relief, she spies a pale beige coloration to the large van. Tomoyo is so overjoyed to the arrival of her driver that she doesn't even bother to step out of the way as the van screeches to a stop right next to her and splashes her from head to toe with the freezing puddle water. Tomoyo shakes her head and coughs up the water she involuntarily swallowed as the driver of the van, a female suit-wearing bodyguard, comes out the right-side of the out with a large black umbrella and a heavy raincoat. The bodyguard drapes the raincoat over a shivering Tomoyo and hands her the umbrella as she leads her around to the opposite side of the van, where the bodyguard quickly, silently and carefully helps Tomoyo into the passenger-side seat on the left. The bodyguard then returns with the umbrella to the driver's side and collapses the umbrella before embarking and closing the door behind her.

Tomoyo desperately wraps her hands over the heaters, which were already at full-blast. "Thank you for coming out here on such short notice," she says to her driver.

Tomoyo's bodyguard glances at Tomoyo briefly out the corner of her eye as she starts the engine and shifts gears. "That's what your mother pays me for. I'll get you back to the mansion in no time-"

"No, wait," Tomoyo quickly beckons. "Well, at least, before I go home, I need to make a stop at the nearest subway station first." Tomoyo then pauses, debating on how best to voice her intent without sounding like a lunatic. "…Two of my friends are stranded there, and I want to give them a lift to their homes, too." It's not a _complete_ lie, Tomoyo reasons to herself.

After a short moment, the bodyguard nods. "Will do," she responds, starting the car and taking off down the road.

CRASH!

"Damien!" Keroberos calls out urgently.

Yue and Keroberos both descend quickly from a rainy sky, heading for an alley, following the trail of their fallen guide. Gliding down for graceful landings in the trashy, dark alley, they quickly take notice of the dumpster, which had exploded, burning in flames. Fortunately, the torrents of rain prevent the smoldering, scattered garbage from resulting in a massive fire hazard. All that remains, aside from heavy shrapnel and garbage-turned-soot, is a crater, where Damien had landed on his shoulders and remains upside-down after a less than poised landing.

"Nice landing," Keroberos comments sarcastically. "I give it… a 2.5 out of 10," he jokes.

"Bite me…" Damien replies stoically. He flops sorely over on one side and groans with acute discomfort. "Living off borrowed magic sucks!" he bemoans.

"Then don't," Yue says, folding his arms. "Why don't you tell _us _what to do and we'll fight Lycan on your behalf? Remember, you're not just planning on fighting Lycan with magic that isn't yours, but with a _body_ that isn't yours, either. If your magic gives out while fighting Lycan, you could get that boy killed."

Damien lifts himself up sorely. "Trust me, you don't _want_ to know everything I know about Kaos," he dismisses. Having lifted himself up to a proper vertical base, he lifts his head slightly, locking a glare onto Yue. "I saw that look on your face when you learned that Lycan was Reed's AWOL kid-brother this whole time. I should ask whether _you're _able to fight Lycan. Can you handle cleaning up after Reed's screw-up? Can you handle that the reason Gin turned into Lycan was because he got stabbed in the back by his own flesh and blood?" Grunting and groaning for moments, he generates a harpoon of bright orange energy, but the expenditure forces Damien to lean on this new weapon like a cane as he catches his breath.

Preparing to match Damien weapon for weapon, Yue chops his hand through the air, drawing a bow of blue energy that he grabs out of the air. "Don't start what you can't finish, Damien," Yue threatens. "If you even want to make it to Lycan, I suggest you watch your tone…"

"Hey, cut it out! Both of you!" Keroberos interjects, physically throwing himself between the two Guardians.

All of a sudden, Damien winds back and launches his spear right past Keroberos, who dodges, although the shot would've missed him anyway. After launching the harpoon, Damien falls to his hands and knees in exhaustion. The harpoon disappears into the distant fog, beyond visibility.

"You psychopath! What was that for?" Keroberos shouts at Damien.

Damien lifts his head up as he hears the frantic screeching of tires off in the distance, followed by a loud crash. "Oh yeah… I've… still… got it…" he commends himself as he wearily tries to keep on breathing.

(in the van)

Tomoyo's bodyguard squints out the window of the van and at the road, barely able to see more than a few meters out due to the torrential rain and thick fog, navigating by nearby traffic lights and the occasional tail lights of other poor souls who are unfortunate enough to get caught driving in this mess of a storm. "With all due respect, I can see why you called for a Code Red and cancelled your bodyguard requisition. No amount of firepower could save _anyone _from a downpour like this," she comments. However, with little regard to the storm, she continues to drive at what would even be a quick pace for a regular day, causing Tomoyo's heart to beat like a thunderous drum as collision after collision are just barely averted by her hotshot chauffeur. Tomoyo remains silent in regards to her bodyguard's observation of the weather, opting to let her bodyguard believe whatever she needed to get her to Sakura and Syaoran as quickly as possible.

All of a sudden, a sharp jostle from the right, like that of an impact, causes the van to start skidding along the road. The bodyguard quickly grits her teeth and grabs a stiff hold of the steering wheel to avoid crashing into something from the tailspin. All of a sudden, the van smashes squarely into a telephone pole, crumpling the hood and triggering the airbags. The jerking of the impact knocks both Tomoyo and her bodyguard out.

Keroberos and Yue quickly bound over in the direction of the crash, to the beige van with its front bumper wrapped around a light post, and in turn the light post bends over the van's hood. Damien hobbles after the two Guardians, shielding himself from the rain with his massive leathery wings. Yue approaches the van from the right, while Keroberos approaches from the left. Damien finally makes his way to the van, where he leans against the back doors and catches his breath.

Keroberos peers through the foggy passenger-side window as he wipes his paw against the window to clear away the condensation. "I hope nobody was hurt…" he mutters.

Yue comes around back of the van, where Damien can barely breathe. "You caused this crash deliberately?" Yue asks. "What do you have to gain from it? How does this help your plan?"

Damien hangs his head and glances out the corner of his eye at Yue. "It doesn't. But it's called being _nice_. You ought to try it sometime."

"Nice to whom?" Yue inquires emphatically. "I'm getting fed up with all your games and secrets, Damien! What do you know that we don't?"

"In particular, or just in general?" Damien asks with a coy smirk.

"Yue! Damien! Come quick!" Keroberos shouts, gazing through a clear space he wiped in the condensation and rain covering the window.

Quickly filing behind Keroberos, the three guardians peer through the window to see Tomoyo with her face leaning into an airbag. Tomoyo doesn't even move, and is apparently unconscious. Further past her, the driver, presumably one of Tomoyo's bodyguards, also leans face first into an airbag.

Damien quickly slips in front of Keroberos and Yue as he cracks his knuckles. "Stand back, I'll get her out of there…" he boasts. Rearing back for a massive jab, he slams his fist into the passenger window, cracking it heavily, but not breaking through. A few anticlimactic seconds later, Damien peels his fist off the window and shakes out the soreness, all while Yue and Keroberos stare blankly at him.

"Um… Damien…" Keroberos begins. "That's probably bulletproof glass."

"_Bulletproof_ glass?" Yue inquires. "Where did you ever hear about such a thing? What kind of sorcery allows glass to deflect a bullet?"

Keroberos responds to Yue's question with a quizzical stare. "What? You've never seen any spy movies? Y'know, 007? License to Kill? The World is Not Enough? …Anything ringing a bell?" However, Yue only acknowledges Keroberos's pop culture knowledge with mere eye-rolling.

Damien ignores the bickering Guardians of Clow as he approaches the van door again. "Magic glass or not, we've got places to be," Damien reminds the two. "I'm ripping this tin can open!" Sinking his bony claws into the cracks between the door and the chassis, Damien breathes in and out for a few moments before pulling. "One… two…"

All of a sudden, the door quickly pops open, slamming Damien in the face and causing him to reel backwards. Tomoyo had unbuckled her seatbelt and shoved the airbag aside, and she pushes the door further open.

"Kero-chan! Yue-san!" Tomoyo exclaims, catching sight

Yue glances out the corner of his eye as Damien continues to reel from the shock impact. He grabs Damien by the ear and pulls with a powerful yet seemingly effortless tug, dragging Damien into Tomoyo's sight and giving Damien something else to wail in pain about.

"And don't forget the all-powerful Damien, the fearless, unflinching Guardian Beast of Kaos," Yue adds with dry sarcasm.

(the subway station)

Orchid warily gazes around the dark station. Lycan had re-immersed himself into the walls, which now continue to wail their torturous screeching voices at Orchid, though to no avail.

Orchid treads onward, moving away from the train tracks and pacing around the concrete lobby in circles like a frustrated, caged animal. She swings hard and smashes the Nightmare's staff into the ground for a loud iron clank. "Come on! Get out here and fight, you coward!" she demands. "Isn't this supposed to be my Final Judgment?" she asks, though she doesn't get even a hint of acknowledgment from Lycan. Her frustration building up to a boiling point, Orchid swings the Nightmare viciously and knocks over a nearby ticket machine, crumpling it like an oversized tin can, and nearly severing it in half to boot. As Orchid bathes in the ensuing rain of blank tickets that spew from the machine, not an inch of her anger subsides.

"_Meh heh heh heh heh… Be sober. Be vigilant. For your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour…_"

"Bad kitty," Orchid returns the taunt with pure, embittered malice. "Get out here! Time for your neutering," she adds with full seriousness, brandishing the Nightmare's glimmering blade with full intent on making good on her threat.

"_At the very least, it seems Xiaolang's untimely demise at my hands hasn't affected your charming sense of humor,_" Lycan taunts.

"That 'Syaoran' means-" Orchid angrily replies to without thinking. Catching herself, she reasserts herself with a more confident, grimmer tone of voice. "He was dead to me long before you got to him."

Lycan snickers with amusement. "_Ah yes, I see now…_"

Orchid looks around at all the walls, frantically trying to find Lycan amidst the howling shadows. "Oh yeah? And what, pray tell, do you see exactly?"

"_I was right about you all along. Indeed, you actually were the perfect candidate to inherit the Kaos Cards. It's then such a terrible pity that you turned out to be such a wretched little brat. I truly regret having to snuff you out._"

"Strong words for a coward who won't show his face!" Orchid fires back.

"_Only a foolish warrior lets his opponent dictate pace. All in good time… Kinomoto Sakura._"

(outside the subway station)

Damien leads Keroberos, Yue, and Tomoyo down the street and through the pouring rain to a set of stairs leading to the subway station. However, reaching the station, the four are perplexed to see a shiny, reflective pool of water having flooded the entire station. The surface of the water from the flooded subway station ripples as the downpour of rain splashes into the surface of the water.

Tomoyo clasps her hand over her mouth in shock as she shakes her head back and forth. "No… This can't be right…"

Keroberos looks across at Damien. "Are you _sure _this is the right station?" he asks skeptically.

Damien gulps down hard. "This is it." He drops down slowly to one knee as he carefully reaches his talon-like hand into the pool, ready to pull it back in a moment's notice. Dipping his hand in, he pulls his fingers out to allow the water to flow over his entire hand. He rubs the digits of his talons together to scrutinize the texture of the substance. He nods with assurance. "Yeah, now I'm absolutely positive," he confirms. "This isn't normal rainwater. This substance…" he drones off, staring up at the dark and cloudy sky. "It's literally raining kaos."

"What?" Yue snaps. "How is that even possible?"

Keroberos sniffs at the standing water flooding the stairwell. As he moves to dip his paw in the mixture, he feels a frigid cold wind flow through his very essence, forcing him to pull back. "During the Final Judgment…" Keroberos begins, turning everyone's heads attentively. "During Sakura's judgment, stars showered down from the sky. But now, as Lycan is judging Sakura, it's raining _ice_."

"Ice?" Damien mutters. "We _have_ to stop Lycan. Now! Whatever it takes," he concludes.

Tomyo looks up peculiarly at Damien. "Of course we have to! Sakura-chan's and Li-kun's lives are at stake. Something like that should go without saying."

Damien shakes his head as he kneels down to examine the flooded stairwell. "No, it's not like that. It's just that, with a kaos manifested as ice… Lycan is about to get a lot more than he bargained for."

"And wouldn't that be a _good _thing?" Keroberos asks.

Damien continues to shake his head in disagreement. "No, it won't. In fact, it's not going to be a good thing for _any _of us. Especially the Little Wolf." He slowly sinks his hand into the substance filling the subway station.

(the subway station)

Orchid stomps furiously towards the center of the subway station, having no luck at picking Lycan out from the shadows. She mutters furiously to herself until her eyes trail across the ground, to where Syaoran's body still lies motionless. Lifeless. Pale. Dead.

Orchid kneels next to Syaoran's body. She sets down the Nightmare at her side and stares at Syaoran.

"You were nothing but a pathetic little boy with a death wish," Orchid tells Syaoran hopelessly. "Looks like you got just what you wanted."

"_He died as he lived- tugging at your heart with all he has._"

Orchid balls up a tense right fist as her left hand strays closer to the Nightmare. Her fingers slowly flow over the handle, ready to grip and swing the weapon in an instant. "Just show your face for about two seconds, Lycan, and then you can join him."

Lycan's forked tail sticks out of the shadowy ground, presaging Lycan's emergence from the ground like a shark's dorsal fin in the water. He approaches Orchid from behind, cautious to keep his position ambiguous. "_Because, deep down, you love Xiaolang, don't you?_"

Orchid's left hand wraps firmly around the Nightmare's handle as she catches movement out the corner of her eye. "That's not something that concerns you right now…" she mutters ominously.

"_Do I detect a hint of vengeance for the fallen Xiaolang?_"

Orchid squints, ready to pounce. "That doesn't concern you, either…"

In a blurry instant, Orchid swings the Nightmare across the ground, aiming to slice right through Lycan's head, but Lycan is just an instant quicker as he ducks back into the shadows. Due to Orchid's wild swing and haphazard grip, the Nightmare goes flying across the station floor, clanking against the concrete loudly several meters away.

Orchid slams her fist into the concrete floor in defeat. "COME OUT AND FIGHT, YOU COWARD!" she screams furiously.

"_What was that? You didn't think I was actually going to fight you on your terms, did you? But I appreciate how you so willingly fight on mine._"

"Keep running your mouth, Lycan," Orchid taunts, standing back to her feet. "I'm just gonna' twist the Nightmare harder after I impale you in the face with it!"

"_Catch me if you can..._"

Tiring of Lycan's games, Orchid makes a beeline for the Nightmare, but before she can get to it, the Nightmare begins to levitate under its own power to a level slightly above the low fog. Orchid tenses up, sensing something clearly wrong before side-stepping the scythe as it zooms right past her. The Nightmare spirals through the air, clipping an unnoticeably miniscule strand of Orchid's hair, before it drives itself full-force into a concrete support pillar.

Orchid paces back to the pillar that the Nightmare had impaled itself in. "Now _there's _some of the Lycie-chan I remember," she observes. She wraps her hands around the Nightmare's staff, but even her most powerful pulling cannot dislodge the blade. Even worse, the shadows crawling up the pillar begin to wrap around the Nightmare and draw it slowly into the shadows. Orchid tugs back, but the might of the shadows is far too potent, forcing Orchid to prop her leg up against the column for support. All of a sudden, the grip of the shadows subsides, sending Orchid reeling and the Nightmare flying far. As the Nightmare hurtles towards a far wall, the shadows covering the wall grow particularly dark, allowing the Nightmare to pass into the wall without any obstruction. Orchid turns her head just in time to see the shadows on the far wall swallow up the Nightmare.

"_How pitiful, Orchid. Not only have you lost the Nightmare card to me, but you lost your key as well. How do you expect to use the Kaos Cards to pass this judgment, much less to kill me?_"

Orchid tries her best to remain calm. She pulls out another Kaos Card, this time the Industry Card. "How do I use Kaos Cards without a key? That's easy. The same way I do everything else. Intimidation." She then turns her attention to the card in her hand, and then up to the ceiling, where the shadows have covered up a number of lights, ecliptically blotting them out. "Alright Industry, I don't like you and you don't like me, but you'll do what I tell you or I'll rip you to shreds, got it?" Orchid stands up and tosses Industry into the air, causing it to spin around. The Circle of Kaos appears below Orchid, shining right through the low-hanging haze. All the signs are present of a successful activation.

"Now, use the lights to cut through the shadows!" Orchid commands of Industry, and to her pleasant surprise, the Industry's three cables disperse from the card and phase into the ceiling, giving Orchid the encouraging grin of a lifetime.

Even after Industry dispersed into the ceiling, Lycan ever indifferently emerges from the shadows behind Orchid, though he makes no attempt to conceal himself, as if nothing was amiss. "Well, well, well. You've gone and done it now…" Lycan warns.

Orchid turns back with undeterred confidence to face her devious assailant. "What are you talking about? I've figured out your little alignment trick. The Industry is a card of Destruction, not Despair, so you have no power over it. And once Industry hits the main circuits, I'll fry your shadows. Then you'll _have _to fight on my terms."

Lycan snickers in amusement. "I'm afraid you're underestimating the sway I hold over my cards. Lest you forget, I'm not just a Guardian Beast, but the original master of the Kaos Cards."

The cable-like tendrils of the Industry erupt from the ceiling, catching Orchid's attention. Orchid turns around to face the possessed power cables head-on.

"And like their master," Lycan continues. "…the Kaos Cards don't take too kindly to ultimatums."

Orchid swivels her head back and forth, trying to keep an eye on both Lycan and Industry at the same time. "Your cards don't scare me, Lycan!" she asserts.

"Well, they should!" Lycan threatens.

The cables of the Industry crackle as the electricity surges through it. Just as the cables lunge towards Orchid, she somersaults out of the way. The Industry's cables whip at thin air, missing Orchid by a great distance.

Orchid reorients, noticing Lycan and the live-wired Industry interposing themselves between her and Syaoran's body. As Orchid reaches for another Kaos Card, she feels around hopelessly, noticing something amiss. Orchid frantically feels all over her outfit, hoping to find at least one Kaos Card stashed away in a deep pocket or something, but to no avail.

"What's the matter?" Lycan asks coyly, noticing Orchid's distress. "_Looking_ for something?" he taunts.

Orchid grits her teeth at Lycan's tone. "You took them all! My Kaos Cards!" she shouts.

"Wrong! They're _my _Kaos Cards!" Lycan insists sternly. "You may have defeated Xiaolang and proven yourself the superior card captor, but the Kaos Cards aren't yours. And you _won't _defeat me to win their loyalty, or their fear."

"Their _fear_?" Orchid responds quizzically.

Lycan turns his nose up to Orchid. "Haven't your experiences as a Card Captor of Kaos taught you _anything_? Fear makes the world go 'round. Every action that anyone does, human, card, or even one like us, is driven by fear. For someone who claims my legacy, I hoped you'd have figured this out by now."

Orchid grins. "So, I guess this just boils down to a contest of who the Kaos Cards fear more: you, or me."

"Precisely," Lycan answers, still aloofly.

"It also makes me wonder… what do _you _fear?" Orchid hyper-analyzes. "What makes big bad ol' Lycie-chan tick, anyway?"

Lycan snaps from his stupor, shooting an intense stare in Orchid's direction. Orchid doesn't even acknowledge Lycan's stare, instead glancing off and folding her arms behind her back nonchalantly.

"I mean," Orchid continues. "…by your logic, the more you fear, the harder you try. So if you weren't afraid of something _huge_, you wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to do, well, _any of this_. All that effort, all that planning, all that yelling… poor Lycie-chan must be scared stiff!" She tilts one eye in Lycan's direction. "Care to talk about it?" Orchid jabs innocently.

"…That…" Lycan grumbles furiously. "…is irrelevant. You have more pressing matters to attend to right now. You seem to forget that you're at a distinct tactical disadvantage right now. My motives ought to be the _last _of your concerns."

The Industry begins stirring the cables it possesses. Drawing these cables back into the ceiling, the entire station rumbles as tremors and cracks run across the ceiling and floors of the entire station. Amidst the quakes, a net of cables erupts around the ground where Orchid stands. The crackling live wires surround Orchid in every direction, leaving her nowhere to run. Orchid responds to her predicament by holding her ground and looking all over, somewhere, anywhere, for a slight window of opportunity to fight back, but finding none.

Lycan steps forward, surveying Orchid's 'cage', as it were, with great approval. "Reflect on your foolish arrogance… _in Hell_!"

"Reflect on THIS!"

All of a sudden, a massive gout of bright golden flame blindsides Lycan right in the face, disorienting both him and the Industry card. Maintaining the flaming pressure, Keroberos strafes past Lycan, aiming his flaming breath at Lycan's damaged mask.

With the temporary disabling of their master, the Industry-possessed wires flail about wildly. Orchid barely dodges the chaotically swinging cables as they occasionally lash at her, but Yue swiftly approaches from behind and chops at the cables with his hand. The ensuing and violent electric discharge catches Orchid's attention, but Yue is unfazed by any pain. Muscling through the surging electricity, Yue sends a blue, slicing wave of magic energy through all the suspended cables, cutting through them with an impeccable cleanliness. Yue's strike leaves the severed cables motionless and sends the remaining cables retiring back into the ceiling.

Keroberos flanks Lycan to the side as he lets up his magical flame breath attack, but right at the instant, he meets a pair of eyes, glowing crimson with malice, tracing his every move.

"Annoying rodent!" Lycan bellows as he sends Keroberos sailing off into a concrete wall with but a willful stare.

As Lycan turns forward, he stares down a meticulously accurate Yue, complete with his magical energy bow and drawn arrow. Yue lets loose his shot, but as the arrow approaches Lycan, it gradually slows down until it halts in midair, just a hair away from Lycan's mask.

"Will I never be rid of these _pests_?" Lycan bemoans. Reversing the arrow with a mystical control, he reforms the blue energy to point the same arrow right back at Yue, but before Lycan can fire this pirated arrow, a glimmering dagger made of orange energy comes flying from seemingly out of nowhere, connecting with the arrow and causing a violent explosion.

When the dust settles, Lycan is nowhere to be seen, allowing everyone there to take a brief breather. Keroberos, still trembling from the ethereal impact, peels himself from the crater-like hole in the wall, stepping out sorely into the station. Damien lumbers the rest of the way down the steps, carefully watching his oversized footing on the tiny concrete stairs, and dragging his massive dead weight of a tail behind him. Finally, Tomoyo follows quickly behind Damien, springing down the steps two-at-a-time, eagerly darting right past Yue, towards Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, you're alright!" Tomoyo calls out, rushing at Orchid and eagerly hugging her from behind, but in shock, Orchid knocks Tomoyo back for her trouble. Tomoyo bumps into Yue, who helps to balance her out before she falls all the way over.

Orchid turns around, locking eyes with Tomoyo, showing far less enthusiasm than her chipper friend. "_Mouse_? What are _you_ doing here? This is _my _Final Judgment."

"Yeah, and you were doing such a bang-up job, weren't you?" Damien replies sarcastically, lumbering closer.

Keroberos limps back towards the group. "If we hadn't shown up, you would've died, you ingrate!" he adds, scathingly chiding Orchid. "But what do I really expect from you at this point? Maybe Lycan was right. Maybe I really _don't_ know who you are. _Sakura_."

"It's 'Orchid' now," Orchid corrects. "And you're right. You _don't _know who I really am."

Keroberos rolls his head back. "Well excuuuuuuse me, Princess!"

All of a sudden, Yue kneels down, grabs a hold of Orchid's chin, and turns her head in his direction. Yue stares deeply into Orchid's eyes. "…This isn't right. This imposter is not the one I selected to be the Master of the Clow Cards," he concludes, shaking his head.

Orchid rolls her eyes. "Which is what I've been _telling_ you people since the start!" she insists, swatting away Yue's hand. "I've _always _been Orchid, even before the Kaos Cards. You all just haven't caught on until now. You call yourself a judge, Yue? Well it looks like you judged _wrong_! Though how could I expect _you _to understand? _None of you understand me!_"

"Sakura-chan-" Tomoyo attempts to intervene, but Orchid locks gazes with her and freezes her with intimidation, right in mid-thought.

"And you!" Orchid snaps. "You're the worst of all, you stupid mouse! …You really think that me lending you an eraser in 3rd grade makes us friends? Do you know why I lent you that eraser? It's not because I'm a wonderful person or anything. You were worthless. Helpless. Pathetic. An embarrassment to yourself and everyone around you. I pitied you for a brief instant, and the next thing I knew, you were off using my eraser before I could come to my senses. And you think that slip-up qualifies you to be my friend? Some _friend_ you turned out to be. I'm just your ever-smiling, never-objecting, absolutely spineless, walking mannequin. Meanwhile, I'd bail you out from one thing or another, be it the attack of a magical card… or the other cheerleaders bullying you for being such a geek. You used me, just like you used that stupid eraser!"

Tomoyo just stands and stares, speechless at Orchid's diatribe, as every word Orchid utters strikes like a rusty iron nail right through her heart, ripping and tearing through her very soul.

"So in turn, I figured I would _at least _use you for my own ends," Orchid continues. "You let me pretend to everybody else that I had a friend. Your job was to get everybody to quit pitying me like I was some kind of freak loner. But I never stopped being alone. I've been alone since I was three years old, when the only person in the whole world who truly understood me left me for good. And then you come along and pretend that you can even _compare_ to her? _Never!_ You _disgust_ me!"

Before Tomoyo can react to Orchid's outburst with any more than hurt tears, a wickedly deep cackling emanates from the fog-covered floor, cutting everyone off and grabbing their attention.

"_What did you mortals hope to accomplish by coming here?_"

"Putting you down! That's what we hope to accomplish!" Keroberos responds swiftly and confidently.

Off to the distance, near the train tracks, Lycan slowly emerges from the fog. "Really, Keroberos?" Lycan taunts. "I would've hoped that these past two centuries would've taught you a few things about patience and choosing your battles. You're picking a fight that you can't win."

"Maybe he can't…" Damien interjects weakly, hobbling along. All of a sudden, he holds up a claw with a Kaos Card levitating over his open palm. "But I can. Oblivion, RELEASE!"

The card in Damien's hand responds to his call by launching forth a hurricane of swirling black and white lightning, right at Lycan. Barreling forward faster than even Lycan's reflexes can react to, the energy cyclone smashes into Lycan's mask and explodes violently. Plumes of smoke spread for several meters around in a split second, and the shockwave of the explosion slices through the fog like a torch.

Damien's new power source and henceforth unseen Kaos Card draws every eye except Orchid's.

"What power was _that_?" Yue asks with astonishment.

Damien drops to a knee and takes several deep breaths. "The last Kaos Card… The fourth and final Kaos Card of Destruction… The Life Card, having fallen fully to Kaos... It became this. I wish it didn't come to this though. My Master… my _true _master left the Life Card to me, telling me to protect it above all else. I wish that letting it fall to Kaos like the others wasn't necessary… but our options have grown too thin."

An evil cackling rises up from the explosion. A powerful windstorm blows away the smoke from the explosion, leaving only the fog on the ground, and thicker than ever to boot. Lycan hovers arrogantly, right over the railroad tracks, laughing maniacally. "I knew it! I knew I could count on you, Damien, to bring the final Kaos Card here. By doing so, you have sealed your fate, and the fate of everyone in this world! I won't be cheated out of my victory any longer. This time, this place, everything here is mine, including that Kaos Card. And I'll get that card from you if I have to pick it clean from your ashes!"

Damien grips the Oblivion Card tightly in his scaled fist. "Come and get me!" he taunts.

"What passion," Lycan commends sarcastically. "What conviction. What desire. It's almost like you already _know _what happened to your precious Card Captor, Xiaolang."

Further back, Tomoyo overhears Lycan. Her eyes snap wide open in shock. "_Xiao…lang_? That's Li-kun, isn't it…?" she mutters to Keroberos, who stands right at her side.

"Stay strong," Keroberos encourages. "If I know the kozo, he's _way_ stronger than this joker can imagine."

Orchid chokes up. Gritting her fists, she stares Lycan down intensely.

"Do you come for vengeance?" Lycan asks, turning his head quizzically.

Damien is unfazed. "You lie, Lycan. The Little Wolf wouldn't fall to someone as _weak_ as you."

Orchid's pulse quickens. A pit of raw pain rises up in her chest.

"Why do you doubt my finest handiwork?" Lycan asks with a faux anguish. "Or should I just show you proof?" Lycan inhales deeply, rearing his head back, threatening to blow the fog curtain back.

"STOP IT!" Orchid shouts, unleashing her fury and sorrow in a decrying so loud and sharp that even Lycan takes pause.

Instead of blowing back the fog, Lycan slowly lowers his head, looking towards Orchid and snickering deeply. "Of course, Kinomoto Sakura. Why don't you explain what happened to Xiaolang?"

"He's…" Orchid begins. Choking up, she can't quite seem to get out the words, her throat as dry as a desert.

"Do speak up, so that _everyone _can hear you…" Lycan instructs, goading the anticipations of all others present.

"He's _dead_!" Orchid finally shouts out. "The Shounen is dead! He's dead! Dead! Dead, _dead, DEAD!_" she insists, exploding with emotion, letting the tears rain down from her eyes. Collapsing to her hands and knees, Orchid sobs uncontrollably, all to the background of Lycan's wicked laughter.

Damien turns his head to the side, seeing Orchid crying profusely. Thoughts swirl through his mind quickly, as to whether or not he could believe Orchid regarding the fate of his chosen Card Captor.

Tomoyo looks on uncertainly as Orchid breaks down. Though Tomoyo summoned up the courage to go to her, Yue restrains her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Yue silently dissuades Tomoyo from getting herself involved.

"Kozo- … no… _Xiaolang_," Keroberos mutters, lowering his head and closing his eyes in respect of his tongue-in-cheek rival.

Stacking further insult upon injury, Lycan telekinetically lifts Syaoran's lifeless body from below the fog. Deep, blood drenched scars run across his back, no doubt the source of the fatal blood loss. In fact, Lycan turns Syaoran's wounds toward the others deliberately, showboating in his own perverse way.

"Witness my proudest handiwork," Lycan boasts. With a single, swift motion, he flings Syaoran's body into the far wall of the subway, across the railroad tracks, smashing through brick and kicking up dust with the force of impact.

"_NOOOOOO!_" Orchid shrieks at Lycan's callous handling of Syaoran's remains.

Syaoran's body hangs limply in the crater. Lycan then refocuses his attention on the rest of his moody assailants. "I can't wait to enshrine the rest of you on the walls of this station in similar fashion…"

"Take your best shot!" Damien goads, holding up the Oblivion Card, entwined with crackling energies that eagerly await their emancipation. "I'll reduce you to dust."

"And he's not alone!" Keroberos chimes in enthusiastically, pacing up alongside Damien. "I've been by Damien's side from the start, and I'm not about to chicken out now."

"You'll face all of us," Yue adds, falling in line. "Whatever you used to be, I see you clearly for what you are now: an abomination that ought to be extinguished."

Damien holds up his arm in a symbolic restraint of the eager Guardians of Clow. "No, you two. This isn't your fight. It's mine, and I won't… I _can't _ask you to fight it for me. Gin is my Master. Protecting him is my task."

"My sentiments exactly," Lycan replies, hurtling Yue and Keroberos further back with his telekinetic prowess.

Tomoyo ducks as Yue and Keroberos fly right past her, impacting with the wall behind her.

"Let's keep this down to only the relevant parties," Lycan suggests calmly.

"Then count me in!" Orchid adds with a morbid eagerness. 

"You should stay back, too," Damien instructs. "When I say that this is my fight, I mean it. …You've still got a long life ahead of you."

"Look, you!" Orchid replies sharply. Grabbing a hold of Damien's muscular reptilian hand, she winces at Damien's flesh-razing body heat, but doesn't relent. Instead, she stares Damien straight in the eye. "Give me the Oblivion Card, and I'll destroy Lycan. _Look at me!_ I've lost everything. The Elixir of Fire, the Kaos Cards, the respect of everyone around me, and… and now all I have to live for is ensuring that Lycan _suffers _for what he's done."

Damien mostly ignores Orchid's rant, but pays special heed to something Orchid says. "It figures that Lycan would've taken back the Elixir of Fire. It was his from the start. But if he really has all seven Kaos Cards, then this coming battle will be too dangerous for you to fight. I'll hold Lycan off. When the time comes, you'll know what to do."

Orchid grumbles under her breath. "Forget _you _then! I'll take the fight to Lycan myself!" she boasts.

Orchid breaks straight into a dead run, charging at Lycan with no more than raised fists, but Lycan takes notice and locks onto her with his telekinesis, lifting her off her feet and a short distance from his massive jaws. Orchid flails around helplessly in mid-air, completely at Lycan's mercy.

Lycan chuckles at Orchid's eagerness. "How pathetic. The cavalry comes to bail you out from certain death, and yet you wish nothing more than to harm me somehow. I can only _imagine_. All that pent-up guilt, all that anger, all that pain… Xiaolang's loss must weigh heavily on you."

"Just a couple more feet of wiggle room and I'd be happy to show you a thing or two about anger and pain…" Orchid threatens, but in vain.

Lycan tilts his head, leaning precariously close to a suspended Orchid. "Come now, threats are no way to get what you want. Try asking nicely …mehehehehehe-" Lycan gloats, before being startled by a powerful red claw grasping hold of his bone mask, yanking him off to the side.

Damien tugs Lycan off to the side by the face. Damien locks glares with Lycan for a split second before slapping the Oblivion Card over his face. "Fine. _Please _die!" Damien quips.

At point-blank from the energy-crackling Kaos Card, Lycan is engulfed in a cyclone of thunderous energy. With Lycan's telekinetic hold on Orchid relaxed, and due to the overwhelming shockwaves from the Oblivion's discharge, Orchid is flung far from this clash of the two Kaos Guardians.

Lycan attempts to escape the cyclone, but Damien keeps a solid grip on his mask, pinning him in place. Damien holds the Oblivion Card down over his own hand, allowing the explosive energy to consume his own hands, but preventing Lycan from weaseling away. Instead, Lycan flails his head about in pain, trying to shake off Damien and his explosive Kaos Card, but to no avail. Growing weaker and weaker, Lycan desperately charges into a stone pillar, ramming Damien back first into the support structure. Damien maintains the first hit in stride, continuing to hang onto Lycan for dear life, thus forcing Lycan to back up and continue charging that pillar. With each thrust, Damien's grip on Lycan's mask grows weaker, compounded by the agony of his own hands being subject to the same destructive powers that tear through Lycan.

A few more slams later, Damien's grip finally breaks, causing the stream of destruction to subside as well. Lycan quickly collapses. At this point, the cracks in his mask had grown so deep that it mystifies how it remains attached to his face. Damien rests collapsed against the pillar that Lycan had driven him into repeatedly. His claw-like hands bear deep scars that seem to bleed a crimson dust, but still Damien keeps his hand on the Oblivion Card with all due determination and duty.

Behind a pillar a short distance away, Orchid observes the bitter brawl between the two Kaos Guardians. Orchid had escaped Lycan's telekinesis and rolled out of the way of the massive flood of raw power to avoid it. At the moment, however, she focuses on the Oblivion Card in Damien's weak grip. With Damien in the state he's in, she could take that Card from him any time she wanted to…

Lycan coughs hoarsely as he slowly lifts himself off the ground. In moments, Lycan's coughing turns into a demented laughter, having come to a sudden realization. "You poor, pathetic bastard…" Lycan mocks. "I know why you backed off, why you didn't just let yourself be consumed in the Oblivion's explosive power. But never in my wildest dreams did I think the day would come when _you _would set aside your hatred for men and throw on some pathetic monkey flesh… all just to fight me. I'm flattered."

"Don't be." Damien mutters weakly, peeling himself out of the hammered, crumbling pillar that Lycan pounded him into. He rests his weight back onto his feet. With his left hand, he clasps sorely at his right arm. Flecks of rust peel away from the bronzed skin of Damien's arms, revealing more and more crimson scales within.

"I wonder," Lycan continues. "Where could you find a meat sack with that kind of magic in _this _day and age? Maybe…"

"Someone who wanted the Cherry Blossom protected at all costs," Damien answers. "His magic is mine now, and I'll waste none of it to protect the Cherry Blossom." He turns his head.

Orchid hides behind the pillar in shame as Damien's gaze draws closer. "_Charii… Burosomu? …Is that supposed to mean me?_" she repeats to herself. Ultimately, she hangs her head shamefully. "_What's the use? What idiot would want to protect someone like me? Especially after what happened to…_"

Lycan chuckles. "You expect to keep the Oblivion Card from my grasp using that pathetic shell? And even if you could… what's to say that you're not doing _exactly_ what I want you to do…?"

Lycan and Damien begin to side strafe around, circling each other, maintaining face and preparing to strike or block with equal readiness.

"You're a bad liar, Lycan." Damien replies in rapid response. "You're cornered and you know it. So don't pretend that you're cooking up some master plan to somehow pull everything off at the last minute."

"Have faith," Lycan responds. "As they say, zettai daijobu. Never truer than it is on this day, soon, the entire universe will be set into order. Isn't the mind of a child so full of wisdom and insight?"

"Maybe," Damien admits. "…but _you're _not a child anymore. You're all grown up, and worse off for it. Your mind is full of greed, spite, and raw hatred for everyone and everything around you. You're absolutely right about the mind of a child being a wonderful thing. That's why I'm risking everything here and now to free an innocent child from your evil."

Lycan pauses, taken aback by Damien's accusation. "I… am _not _evil!" Lycan insists with a suddenly irked fury. He takes a couple of deep, calming breaths before continuing.

(flashback)

"No one is asking you to turn upon a path of _evil_. All I offer is my warning. What you choose to do with that warning will determine your path. Tell me, young Gin, what do you wish to become?"

"If what you say is true…"

"Yes?"

"…stronger. I want the power to change things for the better. I want the power to avoid that catastrophe. Show me. Tell me. Tell me everything you know about these… these _Apotheos_ of yours…"

"…I grew up," Lycan concludes. "You should do the same. The things that I see now go far beyond your understanding. What I see as preventative action and appropriate recourse, you call evil. Though frankly, between the two of us, I could care less what any of you think of me. What we are up against _transcends_ power, and the powers of Kaos are our best collective chance of survival. Another time, and you would have seen me as your savior, your _hero_…"

"Unfortunately for you," Damien replies, "…no one shares your visions of madness. I'll see to that." He holds up the Oblivion card in his left claw. "I'll see to it that your _disease _ends here."

"My _disease_?" Lycan chuckles in amusement at the accusation, but quickly shifts to a more serious tone. "Then what would _you_ have? The blind leading the blind? Raw, natural selection? Anarchy without end? _Never_, Damien! I am no disease. …I am the _cure_," Lycan claims with a somber audacity.

"A cure to _what?_" Damien asks sharply.

"…Mortality," Lycan replies simplistically.

Orchid peeks precariously around the concrete pillar that hides her, continually eavesdrops on Lycan and Damien as they circle around one another. She overhears their conversation with little interest, but of a strange peculiarity, the air around the three of them seems to have faded into darkness. Gradual as it was, Orchid didn't notice it at first, but the subway station itself seems to have faded into the background. Looking back, Orchid can only barely make out Tomoyo's silhouette as she watches over the silhouettes of Yue and Keroberos, all three completely oblivious to the fighting that should, by all means, be right next to them. But as suddenly as their forms appeared, they were lost in the shadows, separated from Orchid and the warring Guardians of Kaos by a great chasm of time and space. Orchid frowns into the abyss, realizing full well that there is no escape.

"Kero-chan! Yue-san! Look!" Tomoyo calls out in desperation to the incapacitated Guardians at either side of her.

The anomaly of which Tomoyo referred to was a darkening shadow. The fog had lifted from the train station floor, but it enveloped the majority of the train station, around where Orchid, Lycan and Damien were fighting.

"The station! It's vanishing into the fog!" Tomoyo exclaims frantically. "Yue-san! Kero-chan! Wake up!" she pleads, turning back to the Guardians, smashed into the wall behind her.

"We can hear you just fine," Kero responds. Curled up in a crater in the wall, Keroberos appears otherwise unconscious.

"We simply can't move," Yue adds. Reclined into an impact crater of his own, Yue also lays back in a seeming state of unconsciousness. It is as if the two Guardians' speech was the only unhindered thing about them, as they otherwise remain motionless.

"Why? What's wrong?" Tomoyo asks unsurely. "Did Lycan do something to you two?"

"I bet he did…" Keroberos grumbles. "This paralysis _stinks_ of the Dominion Card's work. That's why we can't move, and how come Lycan can throw us around like ragdolls. Pfft… telekinesis my _foot_."

"And the fog is no doubt the Fade Card's work," Yue adds. "Even with my eyes closed, I can feel its essence in the fog, glowing like a red-hot cinder…"

"I'll give Lycan this," Keroberos begins. "…he's a creative little scumbag. He knows the ins and outs of every one of those Kaos Cards. There's no telling how many of the others are at work, right under our very noses…"

Tomoyo glances back into the dark, silent fog covering. No signs of the inevitable conflict beyond reach outside the cloud, forcing Tomoyo to assume the worst. "What if Lycan wins in there? What if he kills Damien-san and Sakura-chan too? If you two can't move, you won't be able to defend yourselves!"

"Have faith," Yue chides simplistically, turning Tomoyo's head with his cold assurance.

"Don't you believe in Sakura anymore?" Keroberos asks.

Tomoyo stares down, her conviction shattered. "Didn't you hear her? She doesn't want to be Sakura-chan anymore. You heard her. If she really wants with all her heart to be Orchid instead… maybe we should just let her."

"That's ridiculous!" Keroberos retorts. "If she wanted with all her heart to be a _rock_, would she turn to stone?"

Tomoyo's eyes shoot open, as she begins to grasp Keroberos's logic.

"It's just a _name_," Keroberos concludes. "Don't believe what Lycan says. Lycan thinks that Sakura wasn't as genuine as we believe, and that she had been acting the whole time. Even if that were true, I still believe that _our_ Sakura, the Sakura I picked, the Sakura Yue judged, and the Sakura you befriended, was no trick, and that she's still in there somewhere. And you're her best friend. Don't _you_ still believe in her?"

"Well I…" Tomoyo begins, but quiets herself in thought.

Lycan lunges vocally and violently at Damien. Telegraphed as Lycan's lunge was, it proves a simple matter for Damien to somersault out of the way of the raging, bladed battering ram that is Lycan's rhinoceros-like mass. The pillar that Damien was using for support crumbles as Lycan smashes straight through it, utterly unhindered.

Damien uses another nearby pillar to pull himself up again, sinking his heavy claws into the rock and dragging himself up. As he looks around into the abyss, he sees nothing but a veritable forest of concrete pillars, surrounded by a seemingly impenetrable curtain of shadow that stretches on for eternity. In the time it had taken for Damien to hoist himself up, Lycan had vanished into this darkness, though Damien didn't find himself too surprised at Lycan's use of this craven tactic. However, to Damien's shock, Lycan approaches right in Damien's path of vision, with hubris as massive as ever for not attacking from the shadows as he often does.

Damien prepares the Oblivion card, raising it and using it to summon a corona of raw destructive power, readying a violent discharge. "You should've run and hid like you normally do…" he threatens.

"Your blindness is astounding…" Lycan mocks.

With a quick spin, Lycan lashes out with his tails, crushing through pillars effortlessly. Damien responds swiftly by dispelling his Oblivion card and leaping away, causing Lycan to miss greatly with his lashing tail swing. Crushed rubble from the decimated pillars litters the ground for a great radius.

"Your grand offensive is… a _tail whip_?" Damien questions, offended as by a grave insult to his intelligence and martial skill. "Honestly, what kind of Guardian do you take me for?"

Lycan squints. A metal cable trails out the back of Lycan's shadowy form, obscured from Damien by Lycan's dark bulk. "I take you for a self-proclaimed Guardian Beast who seeks to protect the so-called 'Cherry Blossom'. But you are still a fool, and now I'm going to prove it. INDUSTRY! NOW!"

In different directions, the Industry's three cables split up and spring across the ground. While Damien struggles to keep track of the three cables, the Industry springs for particularly large pieces of debris from the broken pillars. Merging with the debris, the Industry lifts three particularly large slabs up in the air. One of the debris pieces is a large, near tetrahedron-shaped spike, with a size comparable to a cannonball.

"See the true powers of Industry, one of _your _Cards," Lycan states. "Technology, be it stone, wood, or metal, is the true pride of mankind, but in truth, all technology is ultimately forged from the raw fabric of nature. Any once-natural substance forged in such a manner becomes a soulless tool, and is but fodder for the Industry to manipulate."

"Quit wasting your breath," Damien retorts. "I know how my own Cards work."

"I expected you to _know_. But… do you_ understand_?" Lycan replies esoterically.

Paying no heed to Lycan's ambiguous inquiry, Damien quickly draws the Oblivion Card and fires its energy at this stone projectile. The explosive cyclone engulfs the stone fragment and, with an impact like a thunderclap, the stone explodes into a fine dust, causing the Industry cable within to squeal loudly in some likeness of pain. Damien breathes the rapid breaths of exhaustion as the cracks in his skin begin to crawl up his torso, accompanied with deep, almost primal grunts of pain.

Another piece of debris, smaller though quicker than the first, flies right at Damien from the side. Attacking from Damien's blind spot, this stone smashes right against Damien's skull. Though the impact sends Damien reeling slightly, he rebounds and snarls at the hovering stone with a fang-toothed roar, no tamer than a wild beast at this point. As the Industry-possessed stone circles around, Damien swings a back-fist into this stone, smashing it to smithereens before the Industry could even react.

Lycan stands idly by, watching as the cables from the Industry jump from one piece of debris to another, flinging them at Damien, only to escape mere split-seconds before a berserk Damien can smash the possessed debris apart. As this whirlwind of desolation continues with greater and greater speed, not a stone touches Damien without getting pulverized, but his grunts progressively begin losing their humanity. The cracks in Damien's mortal skin reach all the way up to his shoulders, as he strikes out with greater and greater feral ferocity.

"Yes, Damien. Let the illusion of your identity as a Guardian crumble like dust. Embrace your true nature," Lycan muses, chuckling wickedly to himself.

Damien's human skin flicks away like rust. As his swinging defensive flurries against the Industry's debris storm continue, his movements become swifter, more powerful, and more ferocious. Smaller rocks are swatted away like flies against Damien's wings, while larger chunks of rock meet their end at Damien's claws and tail, some crushed to a chalk-like powder in Damien's powerful hands.

Finally tiring of the pelting, Damien lets out a draconian roar of great fury. Pillars are blasted with a hot wind, while all the smaller pieces of debris are reduced to mere sediments in Damien's wake. This reveals the three cables of the Industry, in the form of three snakes, tumbling right out of the air and landing on the ground at Damien's clawed feet. Hissing back with a rusty screech, they come together and flare up a trio of cobra-like hoods. However, Industry's pathetic attempts to intimidate Damien are wasted, as Damien lands down a mighty dinosaur-like foot, crushing the cables limp.

Damien breathes heavily, concentrating what little remains of his humanlike focus onto Lycan. "…Whaaat?... Is-ggrrrrrrr… Is that all-grrrr… Is that the _BEST YOU CAN DO? LYCAAAAAN!_" Damien bellows, though most of his speech is lost to his bestial snarling.

"As I thought," Lycan responds. "You're no Guardian Beast. You're just a wild animal. You've _always _been a wild animal! No wonder you pester Keroberos and Yue insufferably about what it means to be a _true _Guardian. How pathetic that you yourself aren't even a real Guardian at all. _That_, Damien, is why you suffer now! You spite Reed for replacing you, not realizing that he saw you for the demon you were, and the demon you are deep inside, to this very day. Reed was _right _to create Yue to usurp the position you held!"

Damien furiously leaps up into the air, gliding for a moment upon his leathery wings, until he lands with a thunderous stomp, crushing the ground beneath him. After landing, Damien curls up, wrapping his wings around his body and, with a massive roar, his wings flap out, sending gusts of blistering winds flying out in all directions. This blows the remains of the debris into chalky powder, and also heavily erodes at all the pillars that Damien faces. The ground under Damien's feet glows dim, but as Damien stomps at the ground more, the stone gives way to a glowing-hot magma that pours up from the cracks in the ground and pools around Damien.

Orchid peeks her head precariously out from behind the now-eroded pillar that she hides behind. Though she had dodged the searing windstorm that shot out in all directions, she feels herself perspire more and more heavily, as the temperature rises dramatically. Orchid tugs at the collar of her blouse, sweltering in the heat. It doesn't even occur to her to ponder what is happening to Damien, the Guardian Beast growing mindlessly animalistic before her very eyes. But the question that Orchid asks herself is what Lycan thinks he's doing, or what he thinks he can prove… and to whom. What is it that transcends Kaos, exactly?

Lycan had laid low to dodge the worst of the burning wind that Damien had called forth, but he still shakes his head in disorientation. Immediately after refocusing his attentions on Damien, Lycan flinches hard after Damien leaps forward and smashes him over the face with a flailing smash, as any sort of martial skill that Damien possessed had crumbled away, along with his semblance of humanity. In response, Lycan attempts to stir his limp form off the ground, but Damien grabs Lycan by the mask and lifts his massive form with impunity.

"_LYYYYCAAAAAAN!_" Damien bellows furiously. Turning around, he throws Lycan like a toy, slamming his once-imposing form back-first into a nearby pillar, smashing it to bits and sending a diminutive form scuttling out from behind the pillar, shrieking as she barely dodges the worst of the falling rubble.

Orchid pulls herself up, sitting on the ground, but she yells in shock as she stares into Lycan's glowing red eyes, as the creature lay incapacitated near her. After her initial shock, locking her eyes with Lycan's, she stares in utter amazement.

Lycan. The very creature that had been Orchid's torment this whole time, the murderous Guardian Beast and fallen master of the Kaos Cards, of all creatures, had been laid low by his own fellow Guardian. Or at least what remained of said Guardian, anyway. What remains of Lycan's mask had been charred black by the burning wind, and smoke still smoldered from the surface. Lycan's heavy, wheezing breaths inflate his massive chest before allowing it to sink back once more. It's as if breathing is all Lycan can manage. The red glow in his eyes fades and flickers in weakness. His jaws hang slightly open, allowing his noxious, carcinogenic breath to sputter out in suffocating volumes. Orchid has to cover her nose and mouth with her hand and scoot away to avoid gagging on Lycan's exhaust-like exhalations. Yet still, despite all the horrific things that Lycan had done, despite the acrid aura of death about Lycan, despite it all, Orchid stares onto the fallen beast with something approaching pity.

Suddenly, a loud snarling grabs Orchid's attention with a demanding urgency.

Damien. Orchid didn't know much about the Guardian Beast of Destruction. She surmised that, like Lycan had chosen her as a Card Captor of Kaos, Damien had chosen the Shounen. Orchid had seen Damien once before, winded and beaten after what appeared like a long fight. But now, she saw Damien for what he was. This feral creature, finally purged of what little remained of his sanity, had just beaten down Orchid's tormentor. Unfortunately, he seemed to have paid for this victory with what remained of his humanity, if he was ever humanlike at all. Reflecting on Damien's title, Guardian of Destruction, Orchid thought it not much of a surprise that Damien would boast just as much, if not more power than Lycan. The Guardian of Despair tended to fight with more trickery and psychological warfare, more smoke and mirrors, rather than use the kind of direct force that Damien had quite effectively demonstrated. Maybe, Orchid reasoned, she had bet on the wrong horse. Maybe Damien was more of a threat to her all along, only she just didn't realize it. For that matter, maybe Damien didn't even realize it.

The reptilian creature haunting Damien's form drops to four limbs, like some kind of winged were-dragon. Flicking out its forked tongue, it stares intensely at Orchid, paying no heed to the fallen Lycan at all. The creature circles precariously, as if to psych itself up. As for what for, Orchid was unsure, but from what she could tell from Lycan's unconscious remains at her feet, she had some general idea. Orchid backs away, trying to get some kind of distance between herself and the creature, but like a patient hunter only would, it covers the difference with leaping bounds, though it never approaches too close. The creature apprehensively keeps its distance, snarling violently at Orchid. It flaps its tail back and forth, tensing up to close the distance with a ferocious body check. With one last preparation before striking, the creature moves up to the only high ground in sight, Lycan's collapsed form. This was the creature's first mistake.

Orchid blinks. The next thing she knew, Lycan was back to his feet, with the creature that was Damien impaled on one of Lycan's blade-like talons. The creature hisses and yelps in mortal pain. Lycan leans up into the creature's mass before, in the blink of an eye, he streaks forward like a shadowy wind, completing the follow through of his fatal slash. Lycan smashes his claw into a pillar, leaving a trail of rusted dust in his wake. The creature left behind dissolves into a cloud of ferrous smoke, leaving only a glowing humanoid form standing in its wake. The dust collects around where Lycan had driven his claw. Out of the dust, Damien rematerializes. Released from the corrupted form which he had degenerated into, he looks no worse for wear than when he started the battle, though his condition was obviously fading.

Damien's eyes trail down to his sternum, where he finds Lycan's claw driven right through his heart. Bringing his claws up around the wound, he feels a scalding hot trail of fluid seep from his wound. His vision blurs and his body begins to fall numb, but he can still hear, if only just barely.

Lycan leans his head up to Damien's, to whisper some last words into the fading Guardian's ear. "The Oblivion Card is mine at last. I thank you for your contributions, Damien… or should I say 'fraud-guardian'? _I_ am the true Guardian of Destruction. _I_ am the true Guardian of Despair. And _I alone_ am the true Master of the Kaos Cards. As for you, it serves you warmongering zaangr't scum right to die in battle, as your kind so glorifies. But your usefulness to me has ended. Now rot. Rot and die, like you should've done on the very day I found you."

Damien groans in a defiant but weakly reply, unable to speak any further, but he stares Lycan down for a long moment. Breaking the silence, Damien groans in howling pain as Lycan twists his claw back and forth.

With a final driving motion, Lycan follows through one more time, blasting straight through the pillar, and through Damien. Lycan's slash leaves nothing of Damien but a glowing, rusty powder and a reverberating, agony-filled scream, echoing throughout the darkness.

Orchid can only stare on in stunned shock.

Yue's eyes snap open. Keroberos follows suit, opening his eyes and turning his head. The two Guardians, released from whatever incantation that bound them, stand to their own feet after peeling themselves from the craters in which their recent fighting had left them. Tomoyo turns her eyes to both Guardians, relieved for their safety. But something else draws her attention.

The thick fog begins to dissipate, eventually allowing the silhouettes of those within to stand out. With the fog cleared enough to make out distinct figures, Tomoyo and the Guardians see Orchid kneeling on one knee, staring up at Lycan, who floats above the ground in what would otherwise be a majestic manner, were it not for Lycan's demonic appearance and reputation.

Orchid stares down at the ground, where Touya had tumbled rather precariously after Damien's unnecessarily forceful exorcism.

Touya. The elder brother of the one once called Sakura. Though Lycan had violently impaled Damien, Touya didn't seem any worse for the wear, aside from the obvious lack of consciousness. Either Damien took the full brunt of Lycan's attack, or Lycan just plain didn't waste his effort on killing a bystander like Touya. Yes, Orchid knew full well that Lycan was doing this to get to her. But what Lycan apparently failed to see is that Orchid doesn't respond with remorse, but rage at this point. Tempered rage, but rage nonetheless. Orchid answers Lycan's atrocious assault not with words or tears, but with a cold, silent, almost eerie stare.

"_Touya!_" Yue shouts, single-handedly breaking the silence and quickly gliding through the thinned fog curtain on a pair of white-feathered wings. He comes to a dramatic landing at Touya's side, where he hoists Touya's unconscious frame off the ground. "Touya! Touya!" Shaking Touya by the shoulders, Yue tries to get a response, but is answered in lifeless silence. Yue is frozen with uncertainty.

Keroberos barrels in right after Yue, keeping his eyes glued to Lycan at all times. He physically interjects himself between Orchid and Lycan, blocking both their stares, earning a particularly contemptuous glare from Lycan's glowing crimson eyes.

Tomoyo trails behind, following Keroberos and Yue into the fog. Inside the thinning vaporous veil, she takes account of the carnage that had been obscured from their sight. Yet more pillars had been mown through with such casual-looking effort that they resembled overgrown concrete weeds. Lycan had apparently suffered some scalding burns to his mask, though Tomoyo spared no tears for the abysmally unsatisfactory amount of suffering he must've endured in the process. Tomoyo finds a particularly relieving sight to notice Orchid still standing, as she had feared the worst for her unarmed and emotionally shattered friend. This was more than could be said for Damien, however, who was nowhere to be seen. For that matter, how did Touya get there? With Touya draped lifelessly in Yue's arms, Tomoyo finds herself once again assuming the worst, even if unsure what exactly the worst case scenario may have been. Tomoyo keeps silent, recognizing how inadequately any words she had could've described what went on behind that haunting fog curtain.

Yue lifts his eyes from Touya and stares off angrily. "That… that _bastard_, Damien! Fleeing like a coward, leaving behind a defenseless vessel… _ Where did you go, Damien?_" Yue shouts to the air, as if Damien would actually appear to answer his query of cowardice.

Orchid stares down, realizing that her failure to end Lycan's existence as she promised so wrathfully had resulted in the death of another. Though, strangely, this most recent tragedy didn't impact her quite as badly as the one that preceded it. Pain has a way of numbing future instances of pain.

"What did you do to Damien?" Keroberos interrogates Lycan sternly.

Lycan begins slowly levitating down to the ground. "Don't be so hard on Damien, Yue. Even though he blamed your existence for the deterioration of his powers, even though he had no chance of defeating me in his deteriorated condition, he didn't flee from me. He fought on, and on, and on, until he met his bitter, bitter end."

Following Lycan's response, a glittering, rusty powder flies past like a thin cloud. Keroberos and Yue both identify the magical aura that it bears, and can faintly hear Damien's deathly screams echoing from what could only be his rusted remnants. The dust blows away and dissipates, taking Damien's haunting voice with it.

Lycan lowers his head to the ground. "Damien… was a good Guardian Beast," he begins with a tone suggestive of a sarcastic eulogy. "Though he was very, very sick. A Guardian Beast in his state could only go on for so much longer, before finally burning out like a dim ember. Yes, Damien was more Beast than Guardian. And even if I may have assisted with speeding up his decay, his fate would have remained the same." Lycan sets a foot forward on the ground and digs his claws into the concrete before dragging his claw back, symbolically drawing vicious gashes in the concrete floor below.

Orchid can take no more. "YOU _MURDERER!_" she bellows as she stands to her feet and looks past Keroberos, straight at Lycan. "How can you take away life with such apathy? How could something as _filthy_ as your soul exist in this world? You call yourself a _Guardian _Beast in vain. Only one title I know of truly suits you: …Kaiju… You're a _kaiju!_" Orchid shouts.

Lycan tilts his head curiously. "Ky… joo…?" he attempts to pronounce, but winds up butchering the poor Japanese language for all it was worth in the process. "Name-calling, Orchid? _Really?_ Well, whatever 'kaiju' means, would a 'kaiju' forfeit his own Final Judgment?" he asks rhetorically.

Lycan receives a veritable chorus of stunned stares in reply, but none more aghast than Yue. "_Forfeit?_" Yue asks, just to make sure his ears weren't deceiving him. As one who actually had not only given Final Judgments in the past, but handed out verdicts of failure to more would-be Cardcaptors of the Clow Cards than he cared to recall, Yue had never heard of a Guardian forfeiting their own Final Jugdment. Losing a Final Judgment in an honest, hard-fought fight against a worthy candidate was one thing, but an unabashed dereliction of his duties like this was practically heresy in Yue's calling.

Lycan snickers at Yue's naiveté. "One of the many perks of being both a Guardian and a Master of the Kaos Cards simultaneously is the right to make such calls. I am Judge. I am Jury. And, my personal favorite…" Lycan pauses for another deep chuckle. "…I am Executioner," Lycan concludes with a perverse fervor.

Orchid bites her lip at Lycan's gleeful emphasis on the lattermost of his duties.

"But alas, no more," Lycan continues. "I have no further need for the Kaos Cards, or their magic. They, and indeed the Final Judgment itself, have all served their duties."

Lycan lurches forward precariously, but unthreateningly. Being no fools to Lycan's deceptive modus operandi, Keroberos, Yue, and Orchid all back off. Lycan tilts his head low as his throat rumbles with guttural convulsions, sounding almost like illness. Orchid and the Clow Guardians prepare for the worst, but to their uncertain relief of Lycan's honesty, Lycan proceeds to literally cough up the Nightmare's scythe. Opening his jaws wide, he manages to get the massive scythe out of his jaws, gently heaving it up to land right at Orchid's feet. Soon after, six other Kaos Cards follow, fluttering out into the air like leaves in the wind as Lycan heaves them up one right after the other. Lycan's gagging coughs grate at the ears, like nothing any present there would wish to hear again. With the last of the Kaos Cards expelled from Lycan's form, they convalesce around the Nightmare's form. Lycan then collapses in exhaustion, landing on the ground with a mighty thud and sending a strong wave of smoke out from his form, forcing Orchid, Keroberos and Yue to turn away, while Tomoyo ducks low and covers her ears behind the Guardians.

As everyone reopens their eyes, they feel a warm and comforting normality to what was once a horrific environment of darkness and fog. Now, the floor is clearly visible, if dim. The lights from above, or at least the ones that Industry hadn't blown out earlier, flicker precariously, intermittently illuminating the station. Lycan's entire influence over the station seems to have desisted with the forfeit of his Kaos Cards. It's almost as if the creature had kept his word.

Orchid opens her eyes and is stunned by what she sees before her. A panting and wounded beast lay keeled over on its side before her. It looked somewhat like Lycan, only much smaller, not unlike Keroberos in stature. Compared to when he formerly stood about the size of a tank, this Lycan seemed rather miniscule. 'Lycie-chan', indeed. Though the creature matched Lycan in the dark color of its skin, its physical structure is more like a cross between a panther and a crocodile, like some sort of arcane, wingless dragon. Lycan's dark, furless skin glistens in the flickering overhead lights, like the smooth, slimy hide of a salamander. Most prominently of Lycan's features, a mask like the skull of a crow hangs over his face, bearing a deep hole between the eyes and charred black on the extreme front. In the large eye sockets, a trail of blood can be seen trickling down from Lycan's forehead.

Keroberos scoffs in near pity. "This is it? _This_ is the all-mighty Lycan? The Guardian Beast of Despair and the Master of the Kaos Cards is… some… bloated gecko?"

Yue continues to hold Touya in his arms. Unable to fight at full efficiency, he prepares to spring backwards at a moment's notice. "Don't let your guard down, Keroberos," Yue warns.

"C'mon, Yue," Keroberos chides playfully. "If he gets any more diminutive, he might as well be pitching car insurance on TV."

Orchid reaches down for the Nightmare, wrapping her hand around its long handle, yet without taking even an eye off Lycan. "All the easier for me to kill him, then," Orchid reasons. "I told you that you'd pay for all that you did, Lycan." Orchid reaches down again, feeling around for her Kaos Cards. She scoops the cards up with a single hand. "You've just made your last mistake…"

Lycan weakly lifts his head, struggling to lift its mass with his scrawny neck. "Oh… have I?" Lycan asks.

Accompanying Lycan's response, a single Kaos Card descends from above, glowing brightly. Orchid notices it and scurries to count up the Kaos Cards in her hand. Dominion, Plague, Industry, Chimera, Fade, and Mirage, all even bearing the name "Sakura" branded into them. With Nightmare bound to her staff, that put a full seven Kaos Cards under Orchid's control. Partially relieved that Lycan hadn't been holding out on the Kaos Cards he promised, she wonders for a split second what this eighth Kaos Card could be. And just like that, she remembers.

The hovering Kaos Card lowers down while Lycan cackles maliciously. "My purposes are complete, Orchid. I no longer need the Final Judgment because Damien, in his death, has delivered unto me the one and only Kaos Card that I required. All the others mean nothing to me. You can keep them. You can even destroy them, if you so wish. But the Oblivion Card… that Card… belongs… to me…"

Orchid grits her teeth and grasps the Nightmare firmly. "Not on your life!" she threatens, preparing to bring the heavy blade down through both of Lycan's skulls, but the Oblivion Card slips right over Lycan's face before the lobotomizing impact could connect.

_Ding._

The next thing Orchid knows, a bright white light shoots out in all directions, with such a blinding intensity that she has to cover her eyes with her forearm. Orchid backs away, the light seeming to push her back with its sheer pressure of intensity. This force drives her, Tomoyo and the Guardians several steps back, until finally the light quickly retracts in.

The beast Lycan now more closely resembles the form it took in shadow, for he had swelled to over twice his size! This new Lycan seems even more limber in stature than the previous, bulkier Lycan that could barely lean up in such a vertically-cramped subway station. Though slightly smaller in overall mass, Lycan had traded bulk for far greater ferocity. Lycan's mask now no longer bore such incriminating stains of failure, but instead had mended and reinforced itself, now less of a bird skull and more like the skull of some carnivorous dinosaur. Lycan's limbs protrude vicious spikes at the elbow-joints, as well as going down his arms, and the claws of his hand-like appendages had grown even sharper, jagged, and more vicious than before, now looking more like talons than paws. Lycan's long, red eyes glow brightly with a renewed vigor, staring down his prey. Such a ferocious visage drives Orchid, Tomoyo, Keroberos, and Yue all the way to the other end of the station, getting as much distance from the beast as the subterranean arena permitted.

"I… live… anew…" Lycan speaks in a new, even deeper voice than before, barely recognizable as having any traces of humanity in it. "And you all… shall die…" he continues. A cold wind begins to flow into his slowly opening jaws, indicating a monstrous inhale. The kind that could only presage an equally-monstrous exhale…

Orchid turns her head to Keroberos and Yue. She gulps down. "Get out of here," she states plainly. "Take my brother and that worthless mouse and get out of here," she reiterates with added urgency, turning back to face down Lycan and whatever he had to throw at her.

"No, we're not leaving this all to you!" Keroberos insists, turning back to face Orchid. "We're your Guardians. We're here so you don't _have _to do any fighting. We can handle Lycan."

"How are you going to do that?" Orchid quickly inquires. "You mean like you've been able to handle him thus far?"

"I'm not quite sure, but we'll give it our all," Keroberos replies in spite of his uncertainty. He turns to his fellow Guardian. "Right, Yue?"

Yue remains silent, staring down at Orchid.

Orchid tenses up. Down range, Lycan rears his head, preparing to spit out something massive. Tiring of her Guardians' excuses, Orchid sifts through her handful of newly conquered Kaos Cards to find one card in particular. "You all can get back, or I'll _force _you back! Dominion Card!" Flinging the card forward with the snap of her wrist, she taps the very tip of the Nightmare's scythe against it as it levitates before her.

An instant later, Yue, Keroberos, and Tomoyo all feel themselves being mysteriously jerked off to the side. The Dominion Card's invisible cords drag the three of them clean off their feet, but off to safety, leaving Orchid herself in Lycan's path of attack.

Orchid focuses her attention on Lycan. A bright glow builds up in Lycan's mouth, and Orchid stares it down hopelessly.

"_Orchid can't die. She's already gone. I wish I still had her courage. Her strength. Her power. But no… she's gone. I am Kinomoto Sakura, now and forever, just some pathetic girl who can't get over the fact that… that… that I have no one left to live for… This is the fate such a worthless girl like me deserves. This is my fate._"

Lycan lets loose with his attack. Opening his jaws wide, he reveals a sphere of pure white light nestled in the back of his throat. In a flash, this sphere dissipates into a massive cyclone of energy, almost as great in breadth as Lycan himself. The burst tears forward, utterly crushing anything even remotely in its way as it races towards Orchid.

All of a sudden, Orchid feels a sharp jerk dragging her to the side. Once staring down her own demise, she now finds herself flat on her back as the barreling intensity of Lycan's attack bores right into the wall that Orchid had been standing in front of. Orchid holds up her arms to shield her face from the luminous burst. A few moments later, the attack dissipates.

Lycan's jaws hang open for a moment, allowing the steam and smoke to flow out before he shuts his jaws and takes survey of the havoc that his new powers caused. He grunts, blasting smoke out his reptilian nostrils in approval.

Downrange, the testimony of Lycan's ferocious new power lays strewn about. To say a tornado went through the station would do the severity of the damage very little justice. A few unfortunate pillars were caught right in the blast, leaving nothing in the path of the cyclone, not even rubble, like they ceased to exist after contact with Oblivion's magic. Even pillars that weren't in the way had been devastated by the passing shockwaves. Further down, into the wall opposite Lycan, a giant hole the size of a sewer pipe smolders at the edges, finely cut with such minimal effort. The hole leads into a deep tunnel, atomizing its way through dirt, rock, and the occasional sewer passageway for as far as the eye can see. Lycan cackles in triumph, utterly unconcerned that his attack had missed.

Orchid slowly lifts her sore body off the ground. The shockwave of Lycan's attack left her flat on her back, not too far from the obliterated hole in the train station wall. She begins to dust herself off from the powdered remnants of industrial sediments, but she stops abruptly when she notices a fine thread wrapped around one of her wrists. Similarly, she finds another thread around her other wrist, then one around each of her ankles. Her jaw drops in repugnance, then in anger. "_Dominion!_" Orchid shouts out at the threaded tendrils wrapped around her wrists. She shoots her glare straight at Lycan, as if to expect some foul play. "What did you do to the Kaos Cards that they suddenly want to protect me?" she asks forcefully.

Lycan steps forward. "I have done nothing," he claims. "If anything, the Kaos Cards appear to be rather starved for their master's attention, now that I have sent them off to a master that I have deemed worthy. No matter. In spite of them, I'll…" Lycan pauses. "…I'll release you to the death you so earnestly seek…"

Orchid turns her head coyly. "You expect me to believe that you think I'm a _worthy master_? You ditched your Kaos Cards! And after all was said and done, you were too much of a _coward _to face me in a _real _Final Judgment. You don't respect my ability as a Card Captor. If anything, you're afraid. Afraid I'd make a better Card Captor of Kaos than you _ever _would've!"

Lycan lowers his head. "Listen here, you tainted scum…" he begins, his voice somberly deep with a threateningly thin threshold of patience. "I don't respect an _iota_ of your existence. But… to be truly honest… you would have made a promising Master of Kaos," he confesses, nostalgically pondering Orchid's vast, if not lost, potential. "…But unfortunately, you decided that you'd rather play me for a fool than to give me even a shred of the respect you gave your former Guardians of Clow. You decided that you would try and steal my glory. You decided to try and deceive me! All after I…" Lycan's voice begins to crack, as if Orchid had somehow struck a nerve with the mightiest creature she had ever laid eyes upon. "… after I _selected_ you… _trained_ you… _groomed_ you to follow in my stead as the Card Captor of Kaos! _Why_? You held _promise_! But instead, you _threw it all away_! You spat in my face! _That_ is why you shall not leave here alive!"

Orchid callously pulls the strings from her wrists and ankles, snapping them with her bare-handed strength and tossing them aside, all while keeping her eyes locked with Lycan's. "Who ever said anything about me leaving here alive? You say it as if I _care_ about my own survival anymore…" Her eyes trail away. "I don't care if you obliterate me. Everything I've lived through up until receiving the Elixir of Fire has been a lie. Not even killing you would change that. Why would I want to keep living this sham of a life? If it helps mend your wounded pride, go ahead. As for me, I can't be rid of this existence fast enough." Orchid sits up hopelessly, not even bothering to attempt evasion.

"_Pride?_" Lycan ponders quizzically to himself. "_Orchid has no idea of what she has wounded, but most certainly, it wasn't my pride. …This pain… even I am no foreigner to suffering, but… why does this hurt so? …No… no, it can't… can't be… No, Damien… you're wrong._"

Lycan finds himself taken aback by Orchid's hopelessly defeated outlook. "…Very well. If you've relegated yourself to death, then death is what you shall receive…" His jaws begin to open, and the air around him hums at the power buildup. Lycan narrows his focus on Orchid… this being Lycan's turn to make a mistake.

A fiery colored bolt smashes right into Lycan's left eye, jerking Lycan's neck with the impact and sending Lycan's built-up breath energy spurting aimlessly across the train station, missing Orchid by a stunningly large margin in his instant of disorientation. The giant dart impales Lycan's eye with such might and ferocity that Lycan's neck twists off to the side, where his head is pinned against a pillar by the glowing bolt. Lycan struggles to pull his head from the pillar, but his efforts only exacerbate the pain. He roars out with such explosive volume that the stone ground immediately around him trembles.

Orchid puts up her arms in defense. The blast Lycan sputtered out may have missed, but the shrapnel from the walls, ceiling, and yet more pillars splashes widely. After the explosive rubble showers subsided, Orchid looks around for the direction of the arrow. Her eyes trail off to her right, over to the railroad tracks. Though Orchid knew full well that there was only one person who could've put out that kind of attack, she still failed to prepare herself for the shock. Sakura's heart skips a beat.

Over at the edge of the platform before the railroad tracks, Syaoran takes a knee. He turns his gaze to the Inferno Crossbow, tensing his muscles until a bright blazing arrow appeared along the crossbow's rack. The effort takes a slight toll on his posture, but he quickly bounces back, standing up and bracing himself for a repercussion unlike any other. But the impact he received wasn't from the stunned Lycan at all.

Orchid runs over to Syaoran and rams into him, almost sending him down to the railroad tracks, but Syaoran holds his ground. Orchid nests her head under Syaoran's chin and pounds on his chest like a drum with her pathetically weak fists.

"What are you doing here?" Orchid yells. "Why are you still here? You're not supposed to be here! You're dead! You're supposed to be _dead_! I hate that you're alive! I hate you! _I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!_" she exclaims, completely at a loss for composure at this point. Her yelling and screaming diminishes to a soft sobbing.

Syaoran bides Orchid's tantrum with a depressing ease, though he refuses to be depressed about it. Though winded, beaten down, and barely able to see straight, he feels on top of the world. "Glad to be back," he replies calmly.

Tomoyo opens her eyes, having recently opened her ears. She had to see. There was no way… No _possible_ way… She had to be sure, to make sure Lycan's deafening pain-cries weren't just playing tricks on her. Before she could attend to her curiosity though, she had to untangle the threads that had dragged her off to the side before. This proves unnecessary, as the threads pop loose at the slightest effort pulling at them. Tomoyo drags herself to her feet as quickly as she can. Paying no heed to the threat of running right past Lycan's line of sight, obscured though it is, she runs across the train station.

Keroberos and Yue similarly free themselves from the threadlike tendrils of Dominion. Keroberos begins to bound after Tomoyo, eagerly taking advantage of Lycan's temporary lack of attention, but he turns his head back to Yue. "Hey! C'mon!" Keroberos calls back.

Yue stares at Touya's body, haphazardly dragged into the station's corner by the Dominion, just like Tomoyo, Keroberos, and himself, but at Keroberos's call, Yue quickly turns around and heads across the station after Tomoyo.

"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo calls out eagerly as she bounds over low rubble to get to her beloved friends. Almost at their side, she sets her foot on a loose stone and slips. With a shrill yelp, she loses her footing and falls forward. Fortunately for Tomoyo, Keroberos bounds nearby and grabs the back of her collar in his lion-like mouth, keeping her from slamming her face into the jagged rubble and hard concrete.

Orchid had noticed Tomoyo's approach. Ceasing her useless pattering against Syaoran, she turns towards Tomoyo and grabs her by the front collar, lifting her right out of Keroberos's gentle jaws, though not to support her. Orchid stares Tomoyo down intensely, not having bothered to even brush the drying tears of a moment ago from her face. "Why are you so _useless_ at everything?" she barks irritably. "What are you still doing _ruining my revenge_?" Rather than eagerly awaiting a reply, Orchid throws Tomoyo to the ground like a life-sized ragdoll.

Syaoran springs nimbly to Tomoyo's side. Putting her arm over his shoulder, he helps her stand to her feet, though Tomoyo winces in pain. Syaoran looks down at Tomoyo's left leg, where an abrasive scar trails its way up the back of her shin, likely from a sharp rock she landed on. The scar hadn't even broken the skin, and while Syaoran was tempted to think that Tomoyo was overreacting to such a small and otherwise insignificant scrape, he reasoned that Tomoyo didn't have anywhere near the pain tolerance that he had.

"Don't' worry, it's just a scratch," Syaoran reassures Tomoyo, but looks up at her face to find her crying a wall of tears. Syaoran pauses for a moment. "…Daidouji-san?" he calls to her.

Tomoyo shakes her head. "No… it's not the scratch... I'm glad _you're_ back, but… Sakura-chan… she's gone." She throws her other arm over Syaoran's other shoulder.

"Get a room!" Orchid shouts with her trembling, shrill voice as she paces right past Syaoran and Tomoyo, making a beeline for Lycan and shoving Syaoran and Tomoyo aside. Orchid reaches her arm out with a commanding open hand, and from the other side of the station, the Nightmare's scythe launches itself at Orchid. Orchid swiftly catches the Nightmare out of the air and twirls it a few revolutions with a single hand before taking hold of it with both hands. All the while, she approaches Lycan.

Keroberos and Yue quickly spring after Orchid, coming to her sides, but Orchid increases her pace. Falling behind their master, they spring forward on their agile white feathered wings, coming to rest before Orchid, blocking her path to Lycan and grabbing a demanding grip on her attention.

"Get back, you two!"Orchid yells, threateningly holding up the Nightmare against her Guardians.

Keroberos and Yue back off by a half-step.

"Why do you insist on impeding us from helping you?" Yue asks with frustration.

"Yeah!" Keroberos pipes up in reply. "Y'know, all for one and one for all? We're here to _help_!"

Orchid raises up the Nightmare. "If you want to _help _so much, get out of my way! This is my battle to fight. Lycan will pay, and I'll be the one to _make _him pay."

"_Pay_? For what?" Keroberos asks. "I thought you'd be _happy _to hear that the kozo is still alive. If it isn't it enough for you to just stop Lycan, then you'll wind up being no better off than Lycan!"

Orchid raises the Nightmare's scythe, readying to make use of it. "You're wrong! Lycan has to pay, and pay dearly, for all he's done to me," Orchid explains. "And you two can't stop me, either."

Yue steadies his posture. "That almost sounded like a challenge…" Yue remarks. He straightens his hands as the edges of his arms begin to glow with a blue aura. "I _knew _that it was a fluke that an emotionally unstable little girl like you could even _think_ to replace Clow Reed. I've had my suspicions since the end of the Final Judgment, when I bestowed mastery of the Clow Cards onto you on a whim of mercy, despite my better judgment. But now, with all that has been coming to light recently, then I've found a much graver reason why declaring you to be our master was a mistake…"

Keroberos turns a fearful glance to his fellow Guardian. "…Yue?"

"Sore loser," Orchid jabs.

"Impudent usurper," Yue counters.

"Uh, Yue…" Keroberos warns. "…we're supposed to be her _defenders_, not her _attackers_."

"Silence, Keroberos!" Yue shouts. "I defend the honor of my _true_ master, and not this juvenile sham. You should be doing the same." Yue swoops forward, straight after Orchid.

Yue and Orchid clash in a thunderous magical impact of blade against blade. Yue finds the implacable chop of his arm impeded by the blade of Orchid's Nightmare Card, and Orchid likewise finds her swing blocked by Yue's ethereal slash, yet neither of them concedes any leeway to the other.

"You won't defeat me again, child!" Yue insists. "Unlike Lycan, I've never _forfeited _a Final Judgment. Over the years, many sorcerers and sorceresses had strived to master the Clow Cards. I've eliminated candidates who were twicethe magician you'll _ever_ be… and _ten_ times the person. You think your belief that everything will be alright is what sets you apart from all them? _All of them _believed that things would be alright for them too, and yet _they failed_. You're no different, yet somehow _you_ were chosen, a decision that bewilders me to this day, but never so egregiously as recently! Keroberos and Damien both derided Clow for his foolishness, yet his choice of _you _as his successor tempts me very strongly to agree. How could Clow choose _you_?"

"The story of my life, Judge!" Orchid retorts. Orchid's feet begin to slide back against the concrete ground. Catching herself, she steadies her stance against Yue's forceful offense. Despite Orchid's resistance, the force of Yue's aggressive lunge travels right through Orchid and cracks the ground around her. "Unlike you freaks, _I know _I'm nobody special. Yet you always expect _me _to handle things, as if somehow I'm the only one who can. Why am _I_ the one who could prevent catastrophe? Why did _I _have to waste my life chasing around the cards that were _your _responsibility? Why am _I _the only one who looks fashionable in those _stupid_ outfits? 'Sakura-chan's more powerful than she seems.' 'Sakura-chan is always so cute.' 'Everything will be alright, now that Sakura-chan is here.' That's what I keep hearing all the time, and it's a lie! Well no more! _NO MORE!_ I'm _not_ a powerful magician. I'm _not_ a sweet, pretty girl. I'm _nothing _like you all think I am! So all of you can just _leave me alone_!"

With a burst of kaos-induced strength, Orchid shoves Yue back several meters, clearing the attacking Guardian from her swinging arc.

Yue flies backward until, with a flick of his wings, he steadies his backward-soaring trajectory, coming to a halt right in mid air. He folds his arms smugly. "Do you honestly expect to deter me with this juvenile assault of yours? If this is all the power that this 'kaos' magic has to give you, then you ought not even waste your time fighting Lycan… when you can't even justify your selection to me. If you were preparing for a Final Judgment against Lycan, you're chasing after the wrong Guardian…"

Keroberos watches the jousting of words and deeds between Orchid and Yue from a somewhat safe distance. Conflicted between his partner and his new master, he doesn't know which side to root for. "Orchid! Yue! Stop this before one of you does something you can't take back!"

Yue whisks up on his silver wingspan to come to a levitating halt at Keroberos's side. He whips his arms open, summoning a hail of frozen blue crystals, preparing to release them. "Oh I fully intend to do _many _things that I won't be able to take back!"

"She's your _master_!" Keroberos pleads.

Yue sends a deathly glare to Keroberos. "That witch is no master of mine! She isn't worthy to handle Clow's _spectacles_, much less his Cards!"

Keroberos's eyes widen. "…Please Yue, you don't know what you're getting into," he continues to plead. "I… I don't want to see you wind up like Damien!" he manages to add.

Yue's eyes widen at the golden beast at his side. With a twitch, he sends the crystalline hail he had summoned right into his worrisome ally. The shards tear through fur, plink off armored plates, and even tear through skin. Keroberos is helpless to dodge or deflect Yue's icy assault at such a close range and with such short notice. Keroberos skids away and lands on his side, near the stairwell at the entrance of the train station, having been thrown some considerable distance from his assailant. Yue, meanwhile, continues glaring at his now injured counterpart without reprieve.

"How… how _dare _you compare me to that irreverent garbage?" Yue fumes. He is granted very little time to simmer in his anger, as a glistening of metal shines in the corner of his eye.

Turning to face Orchid, Yue catches the descending blade of the mighty Nightmare, right in between his hands, before the blade can do its reaping work upon him.

"Try to keep up, Judge. I wouldn't want to embarrass your _real _master any further…" Orchid mocks. She hangs in place mid-air, having been caught in the middle of a jumping lunge.

Yue lets the Nightmare's blade descend past his grip, but he side-steps the attack at the very last second. With another quick motion, his right hand darts up to catch Orchid right around the neck. In shock, Orchid releases the Nightmare, letting the blade stab into the concrete ground.

"You _worm_!" Yue yells. "Keroberos is no longer conscious to protect you. Now nothing can stop me from correcting the mistake I made when allowing one such as _you _to be our Master!"

Orchid helplessly claws at Yue's iron grip with determination. Her feet dangling nowhere even near the ground, she tries to break Yue's grip with a barrage of kicks, but Yue's long arm keeps Orchid's wild flails from connecting. It would seem that Orchid is at Yue's complete mercy, if such a thing existed for the angelic-looking Guardian, until Yue screams out in sharp pain, accompanied by a bright fire hitting him right in the back. Orchid drops from Yue's stunned grip, and then both Orchid and Yue turn to the source of the fiery stream.

Barely holding himself up, Keroberos squints across the station at Orchid and, in particular, Yue. Keroberos's vision is blurry, as he keeps one eye shut in sore pain. "Yue! You don't know what you're doing! You've already had your chance to judge Sakura, and she's our master now. You can't go back on your decision just like that, _especially_ in light of these events-"

"You imbecile!" Yue interrupts. "You shot me _in the back_! I would expect such underhanded treachery from the likes of Damien and Lycan, but _you_? You're Clow's Guardian Beast! You should be standing _with _me! Apparently, the task of defending Clow's good name falls on me and me alone. Well so be it!"

"Clow is _dead_!" Keroberos shouts back. "Sakura is our master now, and we'll protect her! Besides…" Keroberos lowers his gaze. "…your life is in her hands…" he mutters inaudibly.

Trying to hear what Keroberos concluded, Yue leaves himself wide open for a sharp strike across his back, courtesy of Orchid. Were it not for Yue's supernatural makeup, the Nightmare's blade would have sliced him in half. Instead, Yue is sent flying forward, crashing right into Keroberos. The two smash into the nearby wall, with Yue landing on top of Keroberos, with Orchid standing to face them.

Keroberos stirs what little consciousness he has remaining. '_The Sun burns under its own power. But the Moon… Clow… am I really a new breed of Guardian Beast? Why? Why me? Why not Yue? You knew! You… knew…_' Keroberos thinks to himself. Pinned under Yue, Keroberos makes only the most indiscernibly measly attempts to climb back to his feet. "…Yue…" Keroberos calls out weakly.

Orchid frowns in a mixture of rage and satisfaction, surveying the decimated Guardians of Clow and surmising their incapacitation. "And stay there!" she adds before finally returning her attention to Lycan. "I have a lot of pain to get out of my system…" She approaches Lycan once again, leaving the battered Guardians in a crumpled heap.

Lycan isn't any the wiser of Orchid's approach, or so it would seem. With Syaoran's arrow pinning his head to a pillar, he tries to weasel his head off the arrow's shaft, but every twitch sends him reeling in overly audible pain, an agonizing reminder that he isn't in a shadowy form anymore. Bathed in a universe of new sensations, most of which involve agony, even the amusing ordeals of those around him go completely without his notice. Though extremely powerful, Lycan is now but flesh and blood, just like any other creature.

But, Lycan reminds himself, he's _nothing _like other pathetic, mortal creatures. He takes a few breaths before letting out a brazen roar and, with all his might, he drives himself forward, ripping away the pillar with him. The stone pillar collapses away as Lycan, finally free, turns his head to see Orchid staring him down, just an arm's reach away. Lycan contorts his face until, with a snap like a firecracker the arrow explodes with a shockwave of burning energy.

"Do you have _any idea _how much that stings?" Lycan roars. His glowing eyes flicker as his vision returns to him. Though he expects to see Syaoran hounding him down, he is taken a little off-guard to see Orchid measuring him up. He scoffs. "Oh, it's _you_."

"Me?" Orchid responds to the offense. "The Shounen is a _pest_. I'm a _threat_. Get that straight," she corrects, pointing the Nightmare at Lycan.

"You _were _a threat," Lycan counter-corrects. "But I was more than willing to trade those seven Kaos Cards for the one Kaos Card I needed. No one, neither from the Earth, nor from the Heavens, can pose a threat to me now. However, if it's any consolation, the threat you pose to my glory is so considerable that I can no longer simply dominate your will. I must instead sully my hands by reducing you to dust. I… I cannot bear to look upon you any further."

Orchid readies the Nightmare, eagerly awaiting the upcoming contest of might and will. "That makes two of us."

"_You're wrong… Damien…_" Lycan thinks silently.

(flashback)

Lycan had just impaled Damien to a pillar, but had not yet finished the job. The two stare at each other, as if to exchange last thoughts.

"_Thank you, Master. You just saved the Cherry Blossom's life… by ending mine._"

"_Hmph. The only Life that concerns me is the card I'll snatch from your rusted corpse. What could you possibly be referring to?_"

"_Master, I knew you were still in there. Somewhere. There are so many things I wanted to ask you… but my time is too short._"

"_Shut up!_"

"_Just be true to your own heart. Yes… I am a zaangr't. But with that wretched identity comes sight. Sight of things beyond the scope of mortal eyes. And yet, finding the truth in your heart was no easy chore. You hid it so well, even from yourself. Fade is a powerful card, and I see why you favor its power._"

"_What 'truth'? What are you getting at?_"

"_Take care of the Cherry Blossom. For your own sake, Master._"

"_Take care of her? I will END HER! And I'll do it with the very Oblivion Card that I'll take from you!_"

"_I doubt it'll be as easy as you think. The Cherry Blossom is full of surprises. I can see why you confirmed her as your Card Captor. You two aren't that different at all. Your feelings about her are-_"

"_Enough, scum!_"

Lycan smashes right through Damien and the pillar he had pinned the former Guardian to with his vicious attack. All the while though, Lycan's thoughts continue racing.

"_I'll show you. I'll kill that little brat! Just you watch me, Damien!_"

Orchid and Lycan lunge forward at one another. Lycan swings forward with one of his massive, serrated limbs. Orchid swings wide with the Nightmare, deflecting this mass of sharpened bone-knives protruding from Lycan's new form.

In Orchid's mind, she can't help but compare this fight with Lycan to the last fight the two waged against one another, leading up to the capture of the Fade Card. Though Lycan can't pull any fancy tricks with the darkness this time, it isn't any easier to take swings at him. At least from the front, the blades are sticking out everywhere, poised to slice Orchid into several pieces if she isn't careful with her swings. Fortunately, the Nightmare's long reach allows her to strike from outside the protrusions' range, though Lycan's rapid movement forces Orchid to keep her eyes open and make sure to back away when necessary. Before, it was a matter of simply getting a shot to connect with Lycan's mask. Now, though Lycan is fully solid, she can't even touch Lycan through his meat grinder of a frontal arc, which Lycan keeps wisely aimed at Orchid throughout the fight. It figures. Old body or new, Lycan is still a coward. He always tries to put something between himself and his opponent.

Though Orchid swings, parries, and deflects Lycan's attacks with great speed, she can't concentrate enough effort on any offense more convoluted than swinging the Nightmare back and forth to keep Lycan at bay. Swinging and swinging, Lycan responds by backing away further and further. Orchid continues swinging and cautiously advancing on Lycan's position, wary that he doesn't just spring forward and impale her.

Lycan similarly spends his efforts analyzing Orchid's capabilities. Though he expected far more from Orchid, possessing all seven Kaos Cards at this point, she seems almost underwhelming. That gambit of surrendering the seven Kaos Cards in exchange for Oblivion seems to be paying off beautifully. Despite this, Lycan remains cautious. Though he had gained a phenomenal increase in power with the Oblivion Card under his proverbial belt, he now has a body that can be slashed, stabbed, and wounded. This had to be the reason behind Orchid's pummeling offensive: her tormentor now has a body that can feel pain. And feel pain he would, if Orchid got her way!

Throwing out a few weak swings with his heavy claws to test Orchid's resolve, he finds his offenses swatted back with impressive force. Though Orchid showed strong favoritism of the Nightmare Card in combat, what she lacked in brutal application of the other six cards, she made up for several times over with the power of her own kaos. Even without the Elixir of Fire powering her, Orchid seemed to boast plenty of power, possibly dwarfing even what she could've taken from the wicked potion.

However, Lycan remembers, Orchid isn't the only one with a few surprises to show off…

Orchid drives Lycan all the way back to the station wall, and she prepares to take a shot at Lycan's mask. Right as Orchid jumps up for a swing, Lycan leaps off to the side. Orchid's attack comes crashing down, smashing the Nightmare's blade right into the floor. With Lycan clear of Orchid's offenses and the Nightmare stuck in the station floor, Lycan quickly opens his mouth and takes in a deep gulp of air.

"OBLIVION!" Lycan calls out, summoning the power of the eighth Kaos Card. At Lycan's incantation, a violent white cyclone of power shoots out from the depth of Lycan's throat, racing right at Orchid.

Orchid was trying to pull the Nightmare from the ground where it had gotten stuck, but at Lycan's shout, Orchid turns her head to the side to see a burst of power tearing off in her direction. Orchid wastes no time in crudely tearing the Nightmare from the concrete ground and diving out of the way of the stream of power. "Missed me!" she taunts as she quickly scrambles back to her feet.

Lycan dispels the ill-aimed breath attack and focuses on Orchid, who had wasted no time getting back to her feet and preparing for yet another onslaught.

Inevitability, Lycan ponders. The fool Reed even had a special word for it. He called it hitzusen. Though as Gin Clow he dismissed such a silly word as just a fancy way of referring to destiny, as Lycan, he now understands it in a more complete capacity. At this time, despite Orchid's unshakeable resolve, Lycan remains content in his inevitable triumph. No matter what Orchid does at this point, nothing can diminish Lycan's victory. As far as he's concerned, the combat now is for mere bragging rights.

"Face destiny, Orchid," Lycan taunts. "…you can't win."

"Destiny?" Orchid questions, lowering the scythe in her hands. "I _spit _in the face of your 'destiny', Lycan! I'll see you suffer for all the things you've done to me, just you wait!"

"Yes… I trust you will," Lycan responds stoically, merely concealing his unshakeable confidence.

With their verbal joust over, Orchid and Lycan charge at one another, resuming a contest of a more strenuous nature.

The sounds of Orchid clashing against Lycan rage in the background. Syaoran avoids getting involved in the fight as he helps Tomoyo limp through the train station. To avoid getting caught in the mess of the combat, Syaoran guides Tomoyo around the very edges of the station, even if it takes longer. While Syaoran keeps his gaze forward, Tomoyo can't take her eyes off the fighting between Orchid and Lycan.

"Are you alright?" Syaoran asks, trying to get Tomoyo's attention off her twisted friend.

Tomoyo turns her attention back to the path that Syaoran was leading her on. Attempting to walk under her own power, she sets a little more weight on her scraped leg than she ought and nearly trips in pain, if Syaoran wasn't holding her up. Tomoyo regains her footing, leaning on Syaoran for support. "Am _I _alright?" Tomoyo replies quizzically, in spite of her own suffering. "How about you? We thought you were _dead_! What was that about?"

"That stupid Fade Card is a multi-tasking whiz, I swear. And Plague is no walk in the park, either," Syaoran answers, annoyed at the Kaos Cards that were supposedly responsible for his fatal-looking injuries. "Mirage might have helped, too. It's pretty tough to keep track of all the Kaos Cards' presences at once," he admits, but he notices that Tomoyo's attention had escaped him once again.

Tomoyo returns to focusing on Orchid and Lycan, but Orchid in particular. Part of her pleads silently for Orchid to not get hurt while Lycan launches his devastating laser breath streams at her, only for Orchid to sidestep, flip, and cartwheel out of the way at the very last possible instants. But something inside Tomoyo, something buried in a deep, dark place in her heart, makes her want to goad Orchid on, if only in her mind. Go, Orchid. Go, and make Lycan _suffer_…

"Li-kun, does it make me a bad person to want to see Lycan get what's coming to him?" Tomoyo asks shamefully.

Syaoran stops walking for a second and turns his head towards Tomoyo, almost stunned by her question. "What? You mean you _don't_?"

Tomoyo slowly shakes her head. "No. Well, maybe just a little… but I know I _shouldn't_. Isn't Lycan supposed to be Clow-san's brother? That means Lycan is human, or at least he was, doesn't it? How could I wish such bitter suffering on another person like that? As horrible as Lycan is, there's still so much we don't know. Why did Gin-san do it? Why did he become Lycan?"

Syaoran resumes walking, trying to set such questions as Tomoyo's aside. "That's what the powers of Kaos can do to you. It takes away one's reason. You can't control yourself. Nothing makes sense to you. You feel your heart racing in a flurry of emotions you may never have experienced before. It's like-"

Syaoran stops walking again. He completely loses his train of thought, as the very words he was using to describe Kaos to Tomoyo begin to echo in his ears. These words were familiar to him. These symptoms he was describing.

"…_um... er… uh… tea!_" Syaoran hears in his memory, from his own voice.

Syaoran clenches his fists tightly. The Inferno Crossbow begins humming with low reverberations as Syaoran generates a fiery energy arrow. "Stand back," Syaoran warns Tomoyo, his voice low and ominous. "There's something I just realized. Something I have to take care of. Before it's too late."

"Li-kun, wait!" Tomoyo calls back. Syaoran had already rushed head-long into combat, and didn't hear Tomoyo call out to her. Tomoyo leans her back against the wall of the station closest to her.

"Li-kun… come back…" Tomoyo pleads softly.

How selfish, Tomoyo thinks to herself. With Sakura lost to her own madness and Syaoran charging off to stare death in the eye for the umpteenth time, can Tomoyo think about nothing but what _she _wants? Had she truly given up hope for Sakura that easily? Well, that's not like Daidouji Tomoyo at all! Tomoyo steels herself. Even if she couldn't fight, she wasn't about to prove to Orchid that she was a good-for-nothing mouse.

"Come back, Li-kun. And bring Sakura-chan with you."

Was that all she could do? _Hope?_ Maybe Orchid had a point, Tomoyo considers shamefully.

In the middle of the train station, Orchid and Lycan quickly circle one another. Lycan comes skidding to a stop as he drags his claws through the concrete ground. From atop the Nightmare, Orchid dismounts from her flying staff and lands on her feet, dispelling the Nightmare's large, leathery wings, all without taking an eye off Lycan. Both Orchid and Lycan relent in posture as they take a breather. The fighting they had been engaging in had evidently taxed both their strengths. But both of the combatants knew that they were only really scratching the surface of each other's physical and magical constitution. The two stare silently at one another in mute acknowledgment of each others' power and fortitude.

Interrupting Lycan's reprieve, an arrow of blazing energy streaks through the air and smashes into Lycan's head from the side. The arrow explodes against Lycan's scaly obsidian skin, catching Lycan's ire in a big way. Lycan roars out in irritation before turning his vision to the offender.

Smug as can be, Syaoran stands with an empty Inferno Crossbow pointed right at Lycan. The tip of the skeletal structure smokes like a recently fired gun.

"And you think _I'm _a coward for attacking people in their blind spots!" Lycan snarls. He backs up and widens his peripheral vision, keeping one eye on Orchid and one on Syaoran, knowing full well that neither would resist the chance to take a swing at him if he so much as blinked. "You _children_ understand nothing! Xiaolang, you try so desperately to stop me, and yet you don't even understand who or what I am. And Orchid, you have no idea of the scope of your ineptitude."

Orchid and Syaoran close in on Lycan.

Syaoran approaches cautiously. Feeling Tomoyo's eyes right on his back, he feels discouraged from taking any risks, especially with a super-powered Lycan. He readies another round for his Inferno Crossbow to fire, wondering to himself how many arrows it would take to put this supercharged behemoth down, but Orchid calls over at him and breaks his focus.

Orchid walks right between two nearby pillars. "Don't waste your energy, Shounen." Orchid begins to twirl the Nightmare like an oversized, bladed baton. She starts off slow at first, but the twirling picks up speed. Lycan stares on in bewilderment, wondering what any of this has to do with anything. Having picked up what Orchid deemed a sufficient velocity, she takes a solid grip of the scythe's shaft and swings into the momentum, demolishing the pillar at her left. Quickly returning to twirling the staff, Orchid turns to face the second pillar and smashes through it with a stroke even quicker, stronger, and more vicious than the first. Ending this routine, Orchid ceases spinning the Nightmare around and smashes the bladed tip of the scythe into the ground to halt its momentum at last.

Lycan backs up all the way to the edge of the railroad tracks, not quite sure what to make of Orchid's display. "Nice exhibition," Lycan responds. "…but it seems you missed me by a rather wide margin. I'm still standing, and I'm not intimidated. Nor am I impressed."

Himself unsure of what exactly Orchid was trying, Syaoran aims the Inferno Crossbow at Lycan, readying to fire, but Orchid holds up the edge of the Nightmare's scythe and blocks Syaoran's aim.

"You don't seem to get it, Lycie-chan," Orchid responds with sinister playfulness. "You've already lost. Just look around."

"Look around?" Lycan replies in frustrated perplexity at Orchid's smug arrogance. "You think just because Xiaolang is standing once again that you stand a chance?"

Orchid just barely avoids a face fault. "Not _him_, Stupid!" she shouts back, pointing contemptuously over at Syaoran. "Look at the _station_. Notice anything? Notice all those pillars we were wrecking throughout our fight? All those pillars that you weren't paying any real attention to?"

Lycan scans around the station. Indeed, it was as Orchid said. The station itself looked like a war zone, and every last pillar in the station had been smashed, knocked down, bowled over, blasted apart, crushed, atomized by Lycan's own Oblivion blasts, or reduced to gravel.

Watching Lycan glance around the station in what would otherwise be called fear in any other creature amuses Orchid, but only for so long. She decides to finally drop the bomb. "…as in those pillars that the architects of this station installed to keep this quaint little underground cavern from… oh, I dunno… _caving in?_"

Lycan's eyes shoot wide open. The ceiling begins to tremble as dust from above sprinkles down. The station can't hold for much longer. "NO!"

By the time Lycan returned his focus to Orchid, she had already activated a Kaos Card. Lycan only barely catches seeing the Industry's three cables slip into the ceiling, no doubt to accelerate the collapse of the station. Lycan's suspicions are confirmed as concrete, sediments, and buildings from above ground fall crashing through the ceiling and land on the train tracks behind him. The broken ceiling spreads quickly from the back of the train station forward, and Lycan quickly lunges forward after Orchid and Syaoran, but more pertinently to avoid being buried.

"NO! I'VE COME TOO FAR TO LET IT END LIKE THIS!" Lycan bellows, though to no avail as both Syaoran and Orchid had cleared away, leaving Lycan to run through a torrential rain of stone and dirt.

Having closed within a single bound of Orchid's position, Lycan makes one last do-or-die jump, which would be fully capable of goring Orchid if he could just connect, but a clump of ceiling in front of Lycan's path collapses right in front of him. Lycan had just dived under this falling slab ceiling. With a roar of defiance, Lycan is buried under the rubble of the entire train station, and everything that was above it.

After a few moments, the dust clears, and the echoes from Lycan's final roar finally stop ringing in everyone's ears. What was once the train station had become buried by a mountain of rubble. It puts a smile on Orchid's face to think that, somewhere under all this earthy carnage, a crushed and smothered Guardian Beast lies in motionless defeat. Dead. He had to be. Just _had to be_…

Syaoran had returned to holding Tomoyo up. Tomoyo had limped her way to the stairwell, well out of the way of the collapsed ceiling. Syaoran helps her to her feet, letting her get a closer look at the incredibly large mound of earth that had collapsed on top of Lycan. This had to be it, Tomoyo thought.

But no. The rubble mountain begins to tremble. Orchid raises the Nightmare staff defensively, wondering if she had anticipated Lycan's demise a bit prematurely.

Surely enough, an enraged Lycan explodes out of his sediment coffin. Right as Lycan lifts his head to let out an ear-splitting roar…

CRACK!

Tomoyo had buried her face into Syaoran's chest, having narrowly avoided witnessing what Tomoyo reckoned to be a scene gruesome enough to annihilate the innocence of her mind long before its due time. Tomoyo hangs onto Syaoran as tight as she possibly can.

Syaoran hangs onto Tomoyo as he keeps his eyes glued to the scene before him. Part of him wondered if this was, in fact, the last step, and whether the Kaos Cards and Lycan's scheme involving them had been brought to its final end. Yet somewhere, deep in his mind and heart, he thought about what Tomoyo said to him earlier. There were entirely too many mysteries involved in this fiasco to simply close the book on it now. Why did Gin _really_ become the creature called Lycan? Part of Syaoran hoped that this would just be the end of it, but part of him burned with curiosity, eager to learn more. This part of him also anticipates the opportunity to satiate this curiosity… and soon.

As for Orchid, she hadn't skipped a beat. As soon as Lycan came up, his face had a close run-in with the Nightmare's blade. One sickening crunch of bone later, the blade crashed down through Lycan's decorative skull mask, and then into his own skull, driving right through and coming out his lower jaw. Lycan remains motionless as a cold breeze blows through the station, or what remained of it. A small, barely noticeable trail of blood runs down the Nightmare's curved blade, coming to a head and dripping off at the tip. The dripping blood lands with a comparatively thunderous volume against the dry silence.

Orchid's hands tremble in shock. She relaxes her grip on the Nightmare's scythe, letting Lycan's face support the staff's weight. She didn't want to carry it anymore. Its mass felt extraordinarily heavy in her petite grip, but she could feel the weight of it dissipate away. Orchid's thoughts race around. She had finally shut Lycan up once and for all. No more tricks. No more Kaos Cards. It was finally over. It _is _over. But then-

The Nightmare's staff trembles in Orchid's grip, and she just barely feels it. Orchid hopes for a moment that it was just her own wracked nerves playing tricks on her, but then she hears a low rumbling. And this rumbling turns to low growling, which turns to… laughing? Orchid begins to tremble slightly herself.

"…Finish it…" Lycan mutters.

"Finish what?" Orchid responds. "You're the one who's finished! Not even _you _can survive a hit like that."

"I…" Lycan begins. "…I can't… But… your role… is not yet finished. Your staff… your staff is down. Speak… the sealing… incantation. Make… Oblivion… yours…" the fallen Guardian Beast sputters, after which he lets out a wheezing, guttural cough that could almost be heard as a mocking laughter.

Sensing some kind of trap, Orchid freezes up.

"Fear not… Orchid…" Lycan encourages. "Your quest… to capture… the Kaos Cards… When you… seal… Oblivion… my part… will end… I must… I must admit… I am proud… to have… to have overseen you… Orchid."

Orchid grits her teeth, letting her eyes fall to the ground. Lycan was right. There was one last thing she had to do: seal the final Kaos Card. But Lycan had forgotten one other remaining last task ahead of Orchid. "My name…" she begins. "…is Sakura. Kinomoto Sakura!" Now, all that remains is to seal Oblivion.

At hearing Sakura lay claim to her own name again, Tomoyo slowly turns her head, peeking precariously through squinted eyes at what she expected to be some bloody, visceral mess beyond anything in her darkest nightmares, but as she opens her eyes and takes in the truth, it wasn't quite what she expected.

The supposed carnage was surprisingly clean. A small puddle of inky black blood, if one could even dignify it as even a puddle, gathers below Lycan's jaw. Sakura herself blocks Tomoyo's view of the Nightmare's blade piercing Lycan's skull. In fact, from this angle, seeing Sakura standing in defiance before the defeated remnants of the greatest evil she had ever seen in her life, the scene strikes Tomoyo with awe, like the romanticized conclusion of one of her beloved mangas. Ever since Sakura had first shown Tomoyo the powers of the Clow Cards, Tomoyo had imagined what a scene of Sakura triumphing in the name of truth and justice would look like. What upsets Tomoyo the most about this scene is that she had no camera to record it. Nevertheless, Tomoyo brings herself to overlook such a trite little problem. She'd _always_ have her own memories, after all…

"…and in the name of Kinomoto Sakura…" Sakura continues. "…return to your original form!"

Something strikes a chord with Syaoran. _Return to your original form._ That's the incantation Sakura used to try and seal the Clow Cards, as well as the Kaos Cards. Something bothers Syaoran about the use of that particular incantation in this situation, now that he actually thinks about it. The other seven Kaos Cards can actually claim their card form as their 'original form'. But the Oblivion Card doesn't have a true form of its own. It was never completed as a Kaos Card. So, if Sakura returns this card to its original form…

"Sakura! Don't seal it like that!" Syaoran warns.

"…Kaos Card!" Sakura finishes, not even hearing Syaoran's warning at all.

Too late.

A swirling cyclone of lightning-like magical energy erupts at the point where Lycan's cracked mask meets the Nightmare's scythe. Coruscating energies whip about, tearing away at the very fabric of reality upon contact.

Lycan is unfazed by this overwhelming surge of power, and his very body begins to disintegrate into the Oblivion's haywire power. "Sending… Life… to its true form… will be difficult. Yet I… I have… _faith_."

Sakura locks eyes with the dying Lycan, so focused that she doesn't even feel the tearing energies of the Oblivion Card rend through her very body, dissolving her into nothingness upon contact.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Tomoyo screams out, reaching out to Sakura, but to no avail, as Syaoran holds her back. The Oblivion's swirling energies had overtaken Sakura completely, leaving no trace. It tears away at Tomoyo's heart to think that, just after Sakura 'returned' from within Orchid, she vanished again, possibly for good. The universe just doesn't play fair sometimes. At least Lycan had paid the ultimate price, Tomoyo reminds herself.

Syaoran stares at the point where Lycan's mask meets the Nightmare's blade, the seeming epicenter of this explosive energy. Tomoyo reaches forward into the unmaking fury of the Oblivion Card unsealed, but Syaoran holds her back, even if only for the sake of common sense. Syaoran would himself admit to wanting to know what happened to Sakura, and where she went. Is she gone for good this time? Did he come all this way just to fail Sakura now? Or is there one last action that Syaoran can take, one last valiant act of defiance against Kaos and Oblivion itself, to bring Sakura back from the brink of annihilation?

"Xiao… lang…" Lycan whispers, grasping both Tomoyo's and Syaoran's attentions.

Even Lycan's massive form was being dissolved by the swirling maelstrom of antimatter. At this point, Lycan's body looks as if it had been sliced through with precision, yet it still holds itself together for the moment. Blotches of Lycan's presence remain, exactly where they were before, like ink on the canvas of reality, but vast areas of Lycan's body have been whisked away, including the full left half of Lycan's face. Lycan's single remaining red eye glows with the intensity of one last gasp of sentience.

"…Go… Xiaolang…" Lycan repeats.

Syaoran steps slightly forward, holding Tomoyo back. "Go where? What happened to Sakura?" he asks nervously. "And what do you care? You tried to _kill _me!"

"I have… my purposes…" Lycan responds with a monotonous ambiguity. "But you… you must go… Find… Life's true form… Complete… the seal…"

Lycan pauses, only to watch as Syaoran remains frozen in place.

"…What happened to Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asks meekly, placing her hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "Where did Sakura-chan go to? What did you do to her?" she continues asking, pulling herself gradually past Syaoran, getting as close as she can without getting caught up in the swirling obliteration. When Lycan remains silent, Tomoyo becomes irate. "_Well? Where is she? Answer me!_" she shouts, leaning towards Lycan even closer. Syaoran just barely pulls Tomoyo back before an arc of matter-erasing magical energy sweeps through the area where she was standing.

"Xiao… lang…" Lycan speaks weakly, the volume of his voice dropping sharply. "…true form… complete… hurry…" With most of Lycan's visage eradicated by the powers of Oblivion, Lycan's speech degenerates into mumbles and phrases that he struggles to speak out. "…life… depends… on it… go…!" Lycan mutters desperately.

The storming magical winds of the Oblivion pick up in intensity and volume, driving Tomoyo and Syaoran a ways back, and drowning out Lycan's desperate muttering once and for all.

"Li-kun!" Tomoyo shouts out. "What's causing this?"

Syaoran holds up his right forearm to block the wind, hoping that the Inferno Crossbow would be some protection against the Oblivion's power, but his effort proved useless. Predictably. "The Oblivion Card!" Syaoran shouts back over the magic typhoon. "It has no true form to be sealed to, but it's trying to revert to one!"

"So Lycan is really trying to make Sakura-chan into Oblivion's true form after all?" Tomoyo asks.

Syaoran doesn't respond immediately, realizing that he'd have to shout over the raging convulsions of Oblivion's raw power. Rather than answering Tomoyo, Syaoran stares into the epicenter of the Oblivion's tantrum of a storm. Syaoran stares deeper, and deeper, and deeper, into this vortex-like storm, using even the strength of his magic to try and find something, some hint about his next step. Or if there is a next step for him at all…

What Lycan had said to Syaoran troubled him. Something about completing the Life Card's true form, but he wasn't sure. As he told Tomoyo earlier, Cards need both a true form and a master to function correctly. Without a master, the Cards roam uncontrolled, like the Clow Cards and, recently, the Kaos Cards had done. Without a true form, the Card's power would run rampant, like with Oblivion. Lycan… no, _Gin_ knew all this, and Syaoran knew that Gin knew. As creator of the Kaos Cards, even _Gin _couldn't have gotten so horrifically deranged over the years that he forgot the basics of his craft. Lycan was egging Syaoran on to follow Sakura someplace, but to where he couldn't see, even with his magical sight. Syaoran feared that he and Sakura had not only failed to stop Gin's plan, but had actually facilitated its completion by their efforts to defy it. If this is true, then only a scarce amount of hope remains for either himself or Sakura.

But then… what is the explanation for this compulsion that Syaoran is feeling?

"Sakura…" Syaoran mutters, despite being drowned out by the thunderous power storm. "I have to find her. I have to get to the bottom of this…"

Tomoyo feels Syaoran's protective grip over her lessen. Syaoran was letting go. Though Tomoyo couldn't quite hear what Syaoran was muttering through the cacophony, she felt that she at least had a pretty good idea of Syaoran's intent. Despite a supposed contentment, as Tomoyo feels Syaoran slip away from her, her hand hangs onto Syaoran's. She tugs back.

Syaoran turns back around. Tomoyo had held onto his hand, pulling him back for a split second. Syaoran finds himself staring right into Tomoyo's dark eyes. With the deafening noise of Oblivion's tantrum still in full rage, words between the two would never have gotten through. Had Tomoyo any magical capability, she could've probably telepathically contacted him, Syaoran reasons. But no, this was Tomoyo. Not only had she survived this far without even a speck of magical power, but it was almost as if she didn't even need such power to tap into a magic all her own: a magic called hope. Even now, as Syaoran feels Tomoyo's dark eyes drilling right through his very being, he could tell what Tomoyo was thinking, even though what she had to say was so obvious to Syaoran at this point that it almost didn't need to be said.

Bring Sakura back.

Tomoyo tries to let up her clammy grip on Syaoran's hand, fighting herself. She knew that, for someone of Syaoran's strength and skill, it would be no trouble for him to slip right out of her grasp. Letting Syaoran's hand go wasn't necessary per se, but it was still important. She had to let go. It's for Sakura-chan's sake… as well as for Li-kun's. '_I want my beloved to be happy… both of them._' Finding her strength, Tomoyo releases her grip.

Syaoran turns his fullest attentions toward the Oblivion Card. Nothing of Sakura or Lycan remains at this point, and the Oblivion's core, as it were, pulsates with a bright white light, lashing out with short-ranged beams of organic light, whipping about like tendrils, erasing whatever touched them. In wake of such an effortlessly destructive force, Syaoran pauses for a moment to strategize. If he wanted to get to wherever that Card took Sakura, then it would only make sense that Syaoran would have to do pretty much the exact same thing Sakura tried. As if kaos made _any_ sort of sense, but Syaoran shuts out these thoughts. Instead, he focuses his mind on his duty, and on the Inferno Crossbow still strapped to his right arm. The flaming arrow loaded across the bow of this weapon was already primed and ready to use. Perfect.

Syaoran steadies his footing against the raging winds, but the typhoon of power keeps throwing off his aim. He'd never make that shot from a distance. Moreover, if the Oblivion was just going to dissolve him as it dissolved Sakura, he would need to get as close to the Oblivion's wrathful epicenter as possible. There isn't a moment to spare for finding Sakura in whatever dimension she had supposedly been thrown into. Thus, Syaoran reasons, the best solution is simply to kill two birds with one stone. He breaks his steady-aiming stance and braves the force of the winds surrounding the Oblivion.

"Oblivion! I don't fear you or your power! You won't hold me back!" Syaoran yells, readying himself to cross into a frontier not meant for anyone to cross. The Oblivion couldn't hear him, but Syaoran didn't care. He hunches over and drags himself forward, fighting directly against the winds as he approaches the Oblivion's core. Step after step test Syaoran's fortitude to continue on, but he would not be deterred by such a pathetic setback. Compared to Lycan, this is no hindrance at all.

"Take me to Sakura!"

Syaoran approaches closer and closer to the Oblivion's core. It takes nearly all of Syaoran's effort to keep from being thrown right back at Tomoyo by the Oblivion's winds, but he presses forward nonetheless. The wind not only forces him directly back, but as Syaoran gets closer and closer, dust and small stones fly around in the wind, but Syaoran pressures his way through even these. Sharp rocks whip past Syaoran, drawing cuts across his arms and cheeks, but he refuses to yield.

Finally having dragged his way up to arm's reach of the Oblivion's core, Syaoran raises his right hand. He wouldn't be firing the Inferno Crossbow's arrow, but would instead plunge the loaded Inferno Crossbow, as well as his very hand, right into the Oblivion's core! Indeed, no sacrifice proves too great at this point.

A short distance off, Tomoyo covers her ears to the roaring tempests before her. She clenches her eyes shut, though she wouldn't have been able to see a foot in front of her face with her long hair whipping all over the place.

'_Am I truly so useless that I can do nothing but hope? …Fine then. I don't care. If I'm going to be a good-for-nothing bother, then I'll just hope with all my heart! Please, Li-kun, bring Sakura-chan back._'

"Return to your original form…" Syaoran begins.

Syaoran pulls his hand back. This is it. No turning back now. He pushes his Crossbow-augmented fist forward, right into the stiffest of the Oblivion's storms. The winds put up a resistance as strong as stone, but Syaoran presses forward. Mere inches separate the Inferno Crossbow's protruding arrow from the Oblivion's core, but as the winds grow in even greater ferocity, Syaoran finds himself being pushed away. Feeling his fury blunted, Syaoran begins to doubt.

'_Can I really do this? Can I really seal Oblivion?_'

This is pointless. This is moronic. This is outright _stupid_. By what power or madness did Syaoran think he could pull this off? And what exactly compels Syaoran to believe that Sakura is still alive? The word of a monster? Sakura is gone. That's it. Tomoyo can't help. Heck, with the strength of the winds coming from the core, she probably couldn't even _see _him anymore, much less help him. It's over. There's no point in continuing this useless charade of optimism any longer. There's no-

'_What? What's this?_'

Syaoran feels a pair of small, frail hands on his shoulder, holding him up, right as the Oblivion's stormy wrath threatened to bowl him over. Just in time. Syaoran rests, holding himself up against the windy fury of the Oblivion. Though this takes plenty of Syaoran's already overtaxed stamina, he rests on the unseen support at his back.

'_These hands… Daidouji… How did she…_'

At the risk of the wind twisting his head off, Syaoran ventures a glance behind him. Squinting through the rapid winds, he finds himself isolated. Expecting to see Tomoyo contributing what meek strength she had to help him, he sees her instead huddled several meters away, clenching her eyes shut and folding her hands desperately in front of her face.

Maybe Syaoran was just imagining it. Unless… This force… it's uncanny. It's almost like… could it be?

'_Daidouji-san… you're full of surprises._'

Syaoran turns back to face the Oblivion's chaotic center of power. He renews his efforts to send the burning arrow on his arm right into its core.

'…_and so am I._'

"RETURN TO YOUR ORIGINAL FORM: OBLIVION CARD!"

With the force of a spear through molasses, Syaoran jams his fist through the thick power core of the Oblivion, dragging the flaming arrow of the Inferno Crossbow into the untamed card's form. The Oblivion responds with an ear-splitting screech of power, unlike any living creature. The stormy hurricane subsides at this, but the glowing white power core remains, with Syaoran's hand jammed straight into it, seemingly stuck. Syaoran has no more time to take note of any other sensations. Feeling faint, Syaoran whites out. The world around him seems to depart in all directions.

"LI-KUN!" Tomoyo shouts.

Tomoyo watches in horror as the Oblivion's power core thrashes about, sending tendrils of mutated reality whipping about in a random frenzy. Like with Sakura, these tendrils tear great holes through the reality that is Syaoran, leaving him standing there motionless as his body dissolves. It is as if an eraser was wiping him from the face of the universe, one stroke at a time.

Tomoyo continues to stare until the Oblivion's core explodes out with a burst of light, wiping away all that remained of Syaoran and temporarily blinding Tomoyo. She rubs her eyes, frantically desperate to adjust her eyes to the dark station again to see what became of Syaoran. Tomoyo kneels down to avoid tripping in stunned dizziness.


End file.
